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Royals, Blue Jays, Cubs Sign Venezuelan Prospects

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The Royals signed 16-year-old prospects Angelo Castellano and Luis Lara, the Blue Jays signed 16-year-old prospects Wilmer Becerra and Jesus Gonzalez and the Cubs signed catcher Mark Malave and third baseman Ricardo Marcano, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. The bonuses are not yet known for the players, who are all Venezuelan.

Castellano is a right-handed hitting shortstop who may eventually have to move to second or third base. He has good hands and has shown power potential, according to Badler. Lara is a catcher whose defense is ahead of his bat at this point.

Becerra has good speed and will likely become an outfielder. Scouts are mixed on his bat with some saying he's one of the top available right-handed hitters and others saying he struggles in games. Gonzalez has raw power and standout arm strength, according to Badler's subscriber-only report. He's an average runner who appears to have drawn interest from Arizona, as well as Toronto.

Malave has a strong arm that may be his best tool. The switch-hitter isn't a lock to remain at catcher and not all scouts believe in his hitting ability. Marcano has one of the best left-handed swings available and could hit for average and power. He is an average runner who may have to move to left field, according to Badler.

Hernandez, Santa Sign Big League Deals

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SUNDAY: The Mariners do not have any agreement with Dominican outfielder Helsin Martinez, M's vice president of international operations Bob Engle told Ben Badler of Baseball America. 

"We did not sign Martinez in the Dominican Republic," Engle said. "That is not correct at all. Whoever put out that information is totally inaccurate."

SATURDAY: Three players from the International Prospects League have signed deals with major league clubs, according to the IPL website.  Elier Hernandez signed for $3.05MM with the Royals, Helsin Martinez signed with the Mariners for $2MM, and Adelin Santa inked a deal with the Tigers for $750K.

Hernandez, 16, is considered by several scouts to be either the top prospect or one of the top prospects to come out of Latin America this year, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America.  The Dominican boasts explosive bat speed from the right side and at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds already possesses a major league body.  Hernandez's bonus is highest of all-time for an international amateur outfielder.

Many scouts say that the Martinez, who hails from the Dominican Republic, has the best right-handed power in Latin America among this year's July 2-eligible players, Badler writes.  The newest member of the Mariners organization is a corner outfielder who stands at 6-foot-5 and 190-pounds.

Santa, a 16-year-old Dominican third baseman, is the least-heralded of the three prospects but stands out for his raw power and arm strength, according to Badler.

Olney On Deadline Plans For AL Teams

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ESPN's Buster Olney outlined plans for National League teams heading into the trade deadline yesterday, and today he follows up with the American League in an Insider-only column that comes highly recommended. Here's a brief recap…

  • The Mark Ellis trade could just be the first domino that falls for the Athletics. Other veterans like Josh Willingham, Coco Crisp, and Grant Balfour could follow him out the door.
  • The Twins aren't as willing to trade now as they were a few weeks ago, and the big question they have to ask themselves is if eating a chunk of the $5.5MM left on Michael Cuddyer's contract is worth it to trade him.
  • We've heard this before, but B.J. Upton and Kyle Farnsworth of the Rays figure to draw interest.
  • The Red Sox and Angels don't have a lot of financial flexiblity and are more likely to target smaller pieces.
  • Jeff Francoeur, Melky Cabrera, and Wilson Betemit are all affordable and reasonably productive, but Olney notes that the Royals might want to keep some veterans around so the youngsters don't get pounded.
  • The Indians and Mariners will not blow up their rebuild processes despite their surprising runs at contention. Erik Bedard's injury took away Seattle's best chip.
  • Poor seasons from Alex Rios and Adam Dunn make it difficult for the White Sox to do anything. They need those two to get back on track more than anything.
  • The Yankees are convinced their internal pitching options are better than what's available on the market right now. A Rafael Soriano setback would put them in the reliever market.
  • It's all about right-handed relief pitching for the Rangers, who will have plenty of options to choose from. The Blue Jays have lots of bullpen help to deal.
  • The Tigers are asking around about pitching, specifically left-handers.
  • The Orioles are having an internal debate about whether or not to trade Jeremy Guthrie, but they are expected to at least listen to offers.

AL Links: Royals, Red Sox, Indians, Mariners

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Some links from the so-called junior circuit…

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore told MLB.com's Dick Kaegel that any move the team makes before the trade deadline would be something "we felt would help us long term." Kaegel notes that Jeff Francoeur, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Francis, and Bruce Chen are all candidates to move.
  • "I can't sit here and say we'll definitely make a blockbuster trade,''  said Red Sox GM Theo Epstein to Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston. "For one thing, there's not a huge market for sellers right now. But it's a long way from July 31. Market dynamics change, our own situation can change.'' It's been reported that Boston is unable to take on payroll at the deadline.
  • MLB.com's Jordan Bastian spoke to Indians GM Chris Antonetti, who said that "dialogue with other teams has certainly picked up over the last few weeks." Bastian says the team is likely to make smaller, incremental upgrades, but they are not opposed to dealing prospects.
  • Indians manager Manny Acta told Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes that Melvin Mora and Mike Cameron are “interesting” possibilities (Spanish link on Twitter). Mora was released yesterday and Cameron was designated for assignment today.
  • Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times looked back at what the Mariners did at the deadline over the last few seasons, which includes attempts to rebuild and "go for it."
  • With a 3.14 ERA through 117 2/3 innings, Rangers ace C.J. Wilson has put himself in a great position heading into free agency, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.

Quick Hits: Twins, Ellis, Cole, Hultzen

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The Mets released Wily Mo Pena on this date two years ago. The slugger resurfaced with the D'Backs yesterday, when he homered in his first MLB game since 2008. Here are some links for Wednesday night as Pena attempts to hit another homer or two…

  • A scout tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the Twins seem less likely to become sellers than they were a few weeks ago (Twitter link). Minnesota has re-entered the playoff race thanks to a 14-3 tear. 
  • Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group hears that the Giants are not one of the six teams on Mark Ellis’ no-trade list (Twitter link). Ellis has lost his starting second base job in Oakland and the Giants have had internal talks about obtaining him.
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that top draft choices Gerrit Cole (Pirates) and Danny Hultzen (Mariners) will sign for roughly $10MM or so. Two high school arms, Archie Bradley (D’Backs) and Dylan Bundy (Orioles), will likely obtain $6-7MM and some executives see high school outfielder Bubba Starling (Royals) signing for more than Cole or Hultzen.
  • ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick examines the case for expanding active rosters to 26 players. Teams now have sprawling bullpens and demanding travel schedules, so there's support for bigger rosters from Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd, Marlins infielder Wes Helms and others.

How Many Sellers Right Now?

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Just when you start to count out the Twins and A's, they reel off winning streaks and re-enter the contention picture.  Right now, only six teams are at least eight games out of their division or wild card: the Orioles, Royals, Marlins, Cubs, Astros, and Padres.

Some teams may prefer to make trades now, to get an extra month from their acquisition.  That means the best of the trade market looks like this, assuming the six non-contenders will listen on these players, their contracts don't prevent deals, and the players are healthy:

  • Hitters: J.J. Hardy, Derrek Lee, Mark Reynolds, Luke Scott, Vladimir Guerrero, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Francoeur, Wilson Betemit, Omar Infante, Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, Jeff Baker, Carlos Pena, Reed Johnson, Hunter Pence, Jeff Keppinger, Carlos Lee, Michael Bourn, Clint Barmes, Ryan Ludwick, Brad Hawpe
  • Starting pitchers: Jeremy Guthrie, Jeff Francis, Bruce Chen, Kyle Davies, Javier Vazquez, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Doug Davis, Brett Myers, Wandy Rodriguez, Aaron Harang
  • Relievers: Jim Johnson, Koji Uehara, Kevin Gregg, Mike Gonzalez, Joakim Soria, Leo Nunez, Randy Choate, John Grabow, Kerry Wood, Chad Qualls, Heath Bell

Cross off the Cubs players with crazy contracts and the Astros and Orioles who may never hit the market, and there's not much out there aside from relievers right now.  In theory, the state of the market should improve the return for guys like Ludwick and Francis, at least until more sellers show up.

Quick Hits: Royals, Brewers, Hanley, Mets

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Paul Konerko homered for the fifth consecutive game tonight, which gives him a total of 21 on the season and a share of the MLB lead. Here are tonight's links from around the Major Leagues…

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he'll remain open-minded about trades that will improve the Royals in 2011 and put them in a better long-term position. Mike Aviles, Wilson Betemit and Melky Cabrera are among the Royals who could appeal to other teams this summer.
  • MLB officials have had internal discussions about 15 team leagues with no divisions, but the idea hasn't been discussed in collective bargaining with the MLBPA, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan (Twitter links). MLB is reluctant to push for such drastic change, but Passan hears that an NL team “will” move to the AL to even the leagues out at 15 clubs apiece.
  • Brewers scouting director Bruce Seid told Adam McCalvy and Audrey Snider of MLB.com that Milwaukee has talked to top pick Taylor Jungmann since selecting him 12th overall and is prepared to continue negotiations in depth. 
  • Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest told Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post that he doesn’t want to speculate about Hanley Ramirez as a possible trade candidate. “We do say that some players are more or less likely to be traded than others, but we don't ever talk about anybody specific," Beinfest said.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that he wasn’t surprised to hear that Jose Reyes has decided against negotiating a possible deal in-season. 
  • Alderson added that the Mets’ record won’t necessarily dictate their willingness to trade Reyes (Twitter link). "Whether we’re winning or losing is a lot less relevant in Jose’s case,” he said.

Central Notes: Zambrano, Francoeur, Astros, Pirates

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A few items of note coming out of the Central divisions as Carlos Carrasco loses his no-hit bid in the sixth in Cleveland:

  • Cubs righty Carlos Zambrano is trending in trade rumors recently, as he has already said that he would waive his no-trade clause. We've also learned that the Yankees have no interest in acquiring the hurler. However, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reminds us that no team has actually checked in with the North Siders on the hurler's availability (via Twitter).
  • Royals outfielder Jeff Francoeur could draw interest at the trade deadline as a fourth outfielder for a contending team, writes Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. However, Francoeur has a strong relationship with GM Dayton Moore and isn't blocking the imminent arrival of any corner-outfield prospects, so the Royals probably aren't feeling any urgency to deal him, according to Dodd.
  • The Astros have signed Arizona State lefty Mitchell Lambson, their 19th-round pick, according to Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner (via Twitter). Houston has now signed 28 of its 50 selections, per Goff.
  • The Pirates have signed Louisiana Tech lefty Mike Jefferson, their 22nd-round pick, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter).

Outrighted: Toregas, Hughes, Pucetas, Nieves

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Players who cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A:

If The Royals Become Sellers

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The Royals sit at 29-37, seven games out and in fourth place in the AL Central.  The offense has been respectable, but the rotation has not.  GM Dayton Moore moved a couple of veterans with expiring contracts at last year's deadline in Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth; let's see who might be on the trade block this summer. 

Francis

  • Jeff Francis (pictured) is the team's nominal ace; he owns a 4.40 ERA in 14 starts, and his peripheral stats mostly support that ERA despite a low strikeout rate.  With a $2MM salary and $2MM in incentives, Francis would fit into any team's budget.  However, the Royals may not be inclined to subtract him from what is already the league's worst rotation.  If you're wondering about draft pick compensation, Francis is nowhere near Type B.
  • Kyle Davies and Bruce Chen are both on the DL currently, though they could return within a week.  Neither pitcher would really bolster a contender's rotation except perhaps at the fifth spot.  At best, the Royals could try to dump their salaries at the deadline to save about $1.7MM.
  • Jason Kendall is currently on the 60-day DL recovering from September shoulder surgery, so the Royals would need to clear a 40-man roster spot to activate him.  He could be back in mid-July.  Like Davies and Chen, the only reason to trade him is to save a little money.  Backup catcher Matt Treanor could be expendable, though he won't bring much in return.
  • Jeff Francoeur has some power, hitting .275/.316/.462 on the season.  As an affordable player who hits lefties, Francoeur would make sense for the Phillies.  The trade return would be minimal, I'd imagine, but maybe Moore could package him with Francis for some club in the vein of last year's deadline deal.
  • Melky Cabrera comes with the mild incentive of being arbitration eligible after the season.  He's showing good pop with a .453 slugging percentage, and makes just $1.25MM.  He's also capable of playing center field.
  • Wilson Betemit is useful as well, as he can play all around the infield and is hitting .289/.348/.411 on the season.  He's cheap, too.  The Marlins were said to be tracking him last month.
  • We've covered the Athletics, Cubs, Padres, Pirates, Twins, and Astros as potential sellers previously.
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