Odds and Ends: Jeter, Al Reyes, Schilling, Dunn
Let’s kick things off with a link roundup.
- River Ave. Blues wonders about Derek Jeter‘s future with the Yankees. The Yanks don’t have to deal with it until after the 2010 season.
- Reliever Al Reyes is now a free agent. The 38 year-old still has a bit left in the tank.
- Baseball America’s Jim Callis lists the draft’s best coups.
- Curt Schilling is leaning toward retirement. If he does come back, here is a reminder of the 12 teams he was willing to play for last year aside from the Red Sox: Indians, Tigers, Angels, Mets, Phillies, Braves, Dodgers, Padres, D’Backs, Cubs, Cardinals, and Brewers.
- Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says the Rockies need to keep Todd Helton.
- Ken Rosenthal says the Dodgers’ failure to block the D’Backs’ waiver claim on Adam Dunn was a mistake.
- Sam Mellinger explains that Eric Hosmer was smart to hold out for $6MM.
Royals Sign Kip Wells
9:53pm: The Rocky Mountain News is reporting Wells signed with the Royals and will initially work out of the bullpen.
4:02pm: According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Royals have interest in free agent pitcher Kip Wells. The Horacio Ramirez reclamation project worked out well for KC, so Wells is worth a look. Wells needs better control and a solid defense behind him; his strikeout and groundball rates are solid.
Post-Draft Roundup: Hosmer, Smoak, Strasburg
Below I’ve collected more interesting remaining links regarding the amateur draft.
- The Royals bumped their offer from $5MM to $6MM and signed top pick Eric Hosmer. Rany Jazayerli was surprised to see Hosmer effectively get more than #1 pick Tim Beckham. The Royals joined the Red Sox and Pirates as teams spending around $10MM on draft picks this year.
- The Rangers resisted a Major League deal for Justin Smoak, and ultimately signed him to a $3.5MM minor league deal. Owner Tom Hicks pined for a hard slot system.
- The story of pitcher Chris Gruler, picked third overall by the Reds in ’02, reminds us to temper our enthusiasm for these kids. Many will bust.
- Tim Lincecum says Buster Posey can expect other minor leaguers to treat him differently because of the bonus he received.
- The race is on for Stephen Strasburg, who is separating himself from the pack as the top talent in the ’09 draft. The Mariners, Padres, and Nationals all have a shot at him, with the Nats in the "lead." Would the Nats avoid Strasburg due to signability concerns?
Rosenthal’s Latest: Holliday, Fuentes, Kotsay
Ken Rosenthal posted a new Full Count video this weekend.
- Rosenthal believes the Rockies are "almost certain to trade Matt Holliday this offseason." Should be a hot topic at the Winter Meetings in December. Rosenthal says to watch out for smaller-revenue sleepers on Holliday like the Nationals, Royals, and Blue Jays. Holliday, a Boras client, is set to earn $13.5MM in ’09 before he hits free agency.
- Rockies closer Brian Fuentes has yet to hit the waiver wire, but he will soon. Rosenthal wonders if the Dodgers would win the claim if their record is worse than Arizona’s when Fuentes hits the wire. The Marlins, Astros, and the NL non-contenders would have to pass first. I could see the salary-shy Dodgers passing on Fuentes, but the Phillies probably wouldn’t let him get to the Mets. At any rate, a team would have to beat two draft picks to pry Fuentes loose in a trade.
- Somewhat surprising new addition to our cleared waivers list – Braves center fielder Mark Kotsay. Apparently a number of teams are interested in the resurgent Kotsay, though not enough to take on his remaining salary.
- The Braves nearly acquired Jason Bay in July, and will be in the market for a slugging outfielder this winter. They’ll also be looking for a quality starter, likely in the Ryan Dempster/A.J. Burnett/Jon Garland range. Click here to browse the free agent market.
Royals Sign Eric Hosmer
12:05am: Jonathan Mayo says Hosmer received $6MM. Nice job by Scott Boras.
11:40pm: According to Baseball America’s Jim Callis, the Royals signed Eric Hosmer to a minor league deal. Terms are not yet known. Great draft for the Royals, spending big on Hosmer and Tim Melville.
Royals Sign Melville
FRIDAY: Sam Mellinger says the deal is done. Mellinger has some scouts’ views of Melville on his blog. Now the Royals can focus on their other high school draft pick, Eric Hosmer.
THURSDAY: According to Joe Lyons of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Royals are close to a deal with fourth-round pick Tim Melville. The high school pitcher said the contract was sent to the commissioner’s office; he just has to sign it. Typically I have only posted about first-rounders on MLBTR, but Melville is seen as a first-round talent who slipped due to financial demands (he may receive about $1.5MM).
Signing Melville will soften the blow if the Royals are unable to sign first round pick Eric Hosmer. Hosmer is advised by Boras, so that one is expected to go down to the wire. Sam Mellinger is getting positive vibes on a Hosmer deal, but it’s no sure thing. Jonathan Mayo thinks it will get done.
Draft Pick Signing Update: Posey, Matusz, Alonso
10:51am: Baggarly has the latest on Posey. He says it’s a "spitting contest" between Scott Boras and Posey’s agency to have the highest-paid draft pick.
7:46am: The latest links involved unsigned first-round draft picks.
- Sam Mellinger explains the decision Eric Hosmer faces. He might have to go against Scott Boras’ advice.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle denies Andrew Baggarly’s Buster Posey report yesterday, calling it "premature Posey-ing." Schulman talked to the Giants’ director of player personnel, who said the deal is not done and the number is not $7.5MM. There is no verbal agreement, either.
- Schulman also heard the Orioles are about to sign Brian Matusz for less than $7.5MM. Most folks believe this will get done as a Major League deal.
- The Pirates are cautiously optimistic about Pedro Alvarez. It’s possible Scott Boras could drag this out to within minutes of the deadline.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein has an update on all unsigned picks. He believes both Yonder Alonso and Justin Smoak will sign. Publicly, Reds GM Walt Jocketty is 50/50 on Alonso.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo gives his take on Matusz, Josh Fields, and Allan Dykstra.
Odds and Ends: Lowell, Carroll, Saltalamacchia
Time to gather up today’s links.
- With Mike Lowell headed to the DL, Jeff Horrigan wonders if a waiver trade for an infielder could be in order.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney mentioned the Indians’ Jamey Carroll as a possibility for the D’Backs on Monday, though he noted the two teams have not talked.
- Evan Grant suggests the Rangers trade Engel Beltre or Elvis Andrus for pitching this winter. Additionally, he thinks the Rangers might end up trading Jarrod Saltalamacchia rather than Gerald Laird.
- Aaron Gleeman revisits the ’03 trade of Bobby Kielty for Shannon Stewart.
- Patrick Newman runs down some lesser-known Japanese free agents.
- Rany Jazayerli has an interesting post about Royals first base prospect Kila Kaaihue.
- Jeff Passan’s list of this year’s 25 most improbable success stories is a good read.
- MLB.com’s Justice B. Hill has a story about a kid who had Tommy John surgery at age 14.
- ESPN did a bunch of mini-features about this year’s hired guns for their magazine.
Horacio Ramirez Traded to White Sox
On the same night, the White Sox lost and added a pitcher. On the negative side, 36-year-old Jose Contreras ruptured his Achilles’ tendon, which could sideline him for the season. On the positive side, they traded for Royals pitcher Horacio Ramirez. In exchange, the White Sox sent minor league outfielder Paul Orlando to Kansas City. David Just of MLB.com suggests that the Sox could use Ramirez as a replacement for Contreras, but since they plan to demote reliever Boone Logan today, they could make another move to recall a starter, leaving Ramirez in the bullpen.
This will be Ramirez’s third team this year. He was released in March by the Mariners, who had previously traded Rafael Soriano for him. Despite his agent’s claims that seven teams were interested, Ramirez sat on the shelf until mid-May, when the Royals picked him up on a minor league deal. He was promoted a month later, and has posted a 2.57 ERA in 24.1 innings out of the bullpen.
Draft Roundup: Matusz, Alonso, Hosmer
Let’s round up some links concerning the unsigned ’08 draft picks.
- The Orioles haven’t made much progress with Brian Matusz, but they haven’t gone backward either. His agent seems cautiously optimistic.
- Reds top pick Yonder Alonso told the Miami Herald there’s a 50-50 chance he doesn’t sign and goes back to college. One of Alonso’s "advisors" said the Reds and Alonso were way off on figures.
- Sam Mellinger says some think Royals top pick Eric Hosmer might be willing to try college. Hosmer is advised by Scott Boras. Mellinger considers fourth round pick/first round talent Tim Melville the Royals’ backup plan. Ideally, they’ll sign both high-ceiling talents.
- How much of this is just posturing? We’ll know on August 16th.