Minor League Transactions
Here are a few of the noteworthy names involved in this week's minor league transactions, as compiled by Baseball America's Matt Eddy…
- Fernando Cortez was signed to his second go-around with the White Sox organization. The utilityman last played in the majors in 2007 as a member of the Royals, and has a .665 OPS in 3948 career plate appearances in the minor leagues.
- The White Sox also released Justin Fuller, best known as the minor-leaguer acquired last summer from Los Angeles in the Jim Thome trade.
- John Koronka was released by the Dodgers. The veteran southpaw made two starts for Florida in 2009 before signing with L.A. in January.
- Jason Lane was released by the Marlins. Best known for his time with Houston from 2002 to 2007, Lane's finest year came in 2005 when he hit 26 homers and posted an .815 OPS in 561 plate appearances for the Astros. He last appeared in the majors in 2007 with San Diego.
- Texas dealt right-hander Jailen Peguero to the Astros for future considerations. Peguero posted a 7.50 ERA in 25 relief appearances for the Diamondbacks in 2007-08.
- Cleveland released Josh Phelps just a few weeks after signing him to a minor-league deal.
- The Mariners signed pitcher Billy Traber. The left-hander has a 5.65 ERA in 96 career major league appearances, 28 of them starts. He appeared in one game last season, allowing five runs in 3 2/3 innings of mop-up duty for Boston.
Odds & Ends: Santana, Morales, Rangers, Mariners
Links for Thursday, as Omar Vizquel goes deep for the first time this year…
- Cleveland manager Manny Acta said Carlos Santana could join the Tribe before the All-Star break, reports Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. The club wanted Santana to work on his game-calling and throwing before bringing him up to the majors, but Acta says the young catching prospect is progressing defensively.
- Kendry Morales will indeed miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery, according to Mark DiGiovanna of the LA Times. There had been some hope that Morales could return in 2010.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin explained to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that developing pitchers takes years. The former Rangers GM pointed to C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis, two strong starters who were drafted about ten years ago under Melvin.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times takes an in-depth look at what GM Jack Zduriencik has done with the Mariners.
- The Astros signed nine draft picks, including fourth rounder Robert Doran, according to a team press release. Doran is a 6'6" college right-hander.
- Ben Goessling of MASN.com says Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham are players the Nationals could someday win with, not players they should look to move.
- As Pat Andriola of FanGraphs shows, the Marlins have made some fantastic low-key acquisitions in recent years.
- Josh Beckett told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he hasn’t thought about the way his recent back injury may have affected his free agent value had he not signed a four-year extension this spring.
- Former Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey would like to manage the team, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Dempsey, a MASN broadcaster who happens to be Gregg Zaun's uncle, has been a candidate to manage the O's three times before.
- Canadian catcher Kellin Deglan, who agreed to a deal with the Rangers, would have liked to play for the Blue Jays, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.
- Jake Peavy told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Padres' decision to fire former GM Kevin Towers was an "absolute joke."
- Mike Lowell told Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe that he has though about how he would fit in Anaheim. Lowell also realizes he could be in line for a minor league deal after this season and that possibility does not appeal to him.
Mike Lamb Clears Waivers
Third baseman Mike Lamb has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple A, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Lamb was the casualty a few days ago when the Marlins called up top prospect Mike Stanton, who had three hits in his debut last night. Lamb's last extended Triple A stay last year in the Mets' organization produced a .261/.299/.370 line.
Marlins Promote Mike Stanton; DFA Mike Lamb
4:00pm: Rodriguez tweets that the Marlins will designate veteran infielder Mike Lamb for assignment to make room for Stanton. Lamb's DFA is unsurprising, as the 34-year-old posted a line of just .208/.269/.250 through 26 plate appearances.
3:39pm: Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets that Stanton will join the Marlins for the series opener in Philadelphia on Tuesday this week.
1:46pm: MLB.com's Joe Frisaro echoes (via Twitter) that Stanton is not in the lineup and says that there is a report out that he's been called up by the Marlins.
1:42pm: Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel reports that Marlins top prospect Mike Stanton is not in the lineup for Double-A Jacksonville this afternoon.
As Rodriguez cautions, it's possible that Stanton is just receiving a scheduled day off, however this news certainly meshes with the previous reports and speculation that Stanton may be on his way to Miami to continue his 2010 reign of terror in the National League East.
The 20-year-old righty slugger has shown tremendous improvement over last year and absolutely annihilated Double-A so far this season. His .311 batting average entering Sunday matches his on-base percentage from Jacksonville in 2009; his .441 OBP and .726 slugging percentage for the season are also each well over 100 points higher than his marks from '09. To date, he's mashed 21 home runs and walked 44 times in 238 plate appearances, versus 53 strikeouts.
Heading into the season, Baseball America ranked Stanton as the game's third-best prospect, behind only Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg.
Marlins Notes: Ross, Uggla, Cantu, Willis
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro has a trade-filled edition of his Inbox this week, so let's take a look at some of the highlights:
- In spite of a need for bullpen help and the imminent arrival of Mike Stanton, don't expect the Marlins to part ways with Cody Ross.
- Ditto for Dan Uggla and Jorge Cantu, despite their larger salaries. As Frisaro explains, both players' salaries have been budgeted for this season; there's no financial need to move them this year.
- Should the Marlins fall entirely out of contention, however, all three players could be shopped at the deadline.
- The Marlins had interest in Dontrelle Willis, and Frisaro speculates that if he struggles as a starter in Arizona and is designated for assignment, the Fish may take a flier on him as a reliever.
- The Marlins will indeed be on the lookout for relief help, but will be looking to trade prospects as opposed to big leaguers. Frisaro says trade talks for Florida will heat up once Interleague play has concluded.
Draft Links: Cardinals, Royals, Jackson, Rays
If this morning's round of draft-related links wasn't enough, here's some more reading material to prepare you for Monday….
- The Cardinals are targeting left-handed pitching, speed, and power in the draft, according to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo hears that the Royals don't quite have an agreement in place with Yasmani Grandal yet, but that Grandal is still the favorite to go fourth overall to Kansas City.
- Rany Jazayerli outlines why he thinks the Royals' draft positions in recent years have been unlucky.
- Within Peter Gammons' MLB.com piece on the draft, one National League GM says that after the top three of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Jameson Taillon, "there's virtually no difference between the fourth and 44th picks."
- ESPN.com's Keith Law tweets that the Brewers, Astros, Marlins, and Yankees are interested in right-hander Luke Jackson, who looks increasingly like a first-round pick.
- Continuing their three-part preview of Tampa Bay's draft, DRaysBay examines some players the Rays could target with their first few picks.
- Fanhouse's Frankie Piliere runs down the latest draft buzz he's heard and updates his predictions for the first 15 picks.
- Former Athletic Scott Hatteberg is helping out with the club's draft preparation, according to Joe Stiglich of the Oakland Tribune (via Twitter).
Stark On Orioles, Lee, Padres, Stanton, Angels
Major league executives told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark which starters they would most want to have for the next ten years. Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum didn't make the cut, but Felix Hernandez, Josh Johnson, Ubaldo Jimenez, David Price, Brett Anderson and Jon Lester did. Here are Stark's latest rumors, as the trade market starts taking shape:
- Two teams say that the Orioles would listen on Kevin Millwood right now.
- A rival executive says the Orioles are "sniffing around for a shortstop." Stark hears rumors that they have interest in Twins prospect Trevor Plouffe.
- The Mariners won't seriously consider trading Cliff Lee before they're sure they can't salvage their season.
- There's increasing pessimism that the Astros will be able to obtain salary relief and prospects for Roy Oswalt.
- Teams are giving up on acquiring Adrian Gonzalez this summer, since the Padres continue to win.
- Two officials believe Heath Bell could be traded even if the Padres stay in contention. Check out this post from earlier in the week for more on Bell's trade value.
- Tom Gorzelanny could be on the market in a couple weeks when John Grabow comes off the DL.
- Stark hears that the Marlins will call Mike Stanton up next week. The Marlins are being cautious, since they want to prevent Stanton from obtaining super two status and teams believe the cut-off will be later than ever this year.
- Stark's sources don't expect the Angels to start searching for a bat to replace Kendry Morales for a few weeks. When they begin looking for offense, they're expected to look for someone who is about to hit free agency or a versatile player who can defend around the diamond. Kendry Morales is under team control through 2013, so Prince Fielder wouldn't be a fit for the Angels.
Marlins Seek Left-Handed Relievers
Any team that plays in the same division as Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Adam Dunn could use a reliable left-hander or two. The Marlins are no exception, and since Taylor Tankersley is the lone southpaw in their bullpen, they are looking for a dependable left-handed reliever, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. If Dontrelle Willis continues to struggle and the D'Backs make him available, the Marlins would likely have renewed interest in him, according to Frisaro.
Tankersley, the only left-handed reliever currently on the team, has appeared in just three big league games since the Marlins recalled him from the minor leagues. Left-hander Dan Meyer is just a call away at Triple A New Orleans, where lefty Hunter Jones has spent most of the season, so the Marlins do have some depth in the minors. Before he hit the disabled list, Renyel Pinto appeared in 19 games, posting a 2.30 ERA and twice as many strikeouts as walks.
Over the weekend, the Miami Herald named Will Ohman and Matt Thornton as potential fits for the team. It's not hard to imagine Tim Byrdak (Astros), Javier Lopez (Pirates) and Bruce Chen (Royals) becoming available within a few weeks and others could be had in trades. The Marlins could go after former Red Sox Alan Embree and Scott Schoeneweis if they choose to pursue free agents.
When To Expect Top Prospects
From now on, teams that call prospects up to make their major league debuts no longer have to worry that those players will go to arbitration an extra time. It's now June and prospects that debut from this point on will not pick up more than 124 days of MLB service time this year. There's almost no chance that that would be enough for super two status after 2012. We all know when to expect Stephen Strasburg, but let's take a look around the majors and anticipate the arrivals of some more top prospects:
- Mike Stanton – You thought Jose Bautista had a lot of homers? Stanton hit his 19th and 20th of the season tonight at AA in front of Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest. The 20-year-old Stanton, ranked by Baseball America as the Marlins' best prospect this offseason, entered today's action with 39 walks and 50 strikeouts. Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says it may not be long before Stanton is playing in the majors.
- Carlos Santana – The 24-year-old catcher began the season as one of the best prospects in baseball and he has lived up to expectations so far in 2010. Santana has hit .315/.450/.565 at Triple A with ten homers and more strikeouts than walks. Lou Marson, who is actually younger than Santana, struggled early on for the Indians, but has impressed Indians manager Manny Acta lately. Still, Marson has a .216/.270/.276 line this season, so Santana appears to have more offensive potential.
- Pedro Alvarez – The Pirates, who have scored the second-fewest runs in the National League, might be tempted by the .261/.349/.511 line Alvarez has posted in Triple A. No Pirate has a slugging percentage as high as the one Alvarez has posted in the minors and just Ryan Doumit and Andrew McCutchen have been getting on base as much.
Stanton, Santana and Alvarez have played well, but they aren't the only ones who could arrive in the majors before long. Desmond Jennings, Jeremy Hellickson, Aroldis Chapman and Brett Wallace could conceivably get the call within a few weeks.
2006 Draft Throwdown
There is little that is more dismaying than looking back at old draft lists, with the benefit of hindsight, and seeing which players your favorite team missed out on while settling for players who either failed to make much of an impact, or who never even reached the major leagues. Think Reggie Jackson and Steve Chilcott, Robin Yount and David Clyde, Dwight Gooden and Bryan Oelkers. Often, this is driven less by player talent, and more by positional need.
But even more fascinating is to look at some recent draft picks and some of their immediate counterparts, to see how teams fared picking players, one over another, who played the same position. In other words, straight-up scouting choices led to these decisions. Let's take a look at how those worked out in 2006.
- LHP Andrew Miller (Tigers) vs. Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers): This one is more complicated than it might seem at first. Clearly, Miller, drafted sixth overall, has not been nearly as effective as Kershaw, drafted seventh overall. Miller has a 5.50 ERA in 261 2/3 major league innings, and is currently having trouble throwing strikes in the minor leagues, with an astonishing 30 walks in 28 innings. Kershaw has a 3.28 ERA in 342 major league innings, and shows signs of being a good deal better than that moving forward. But Miller isn't with the Tigers; Detroit dealt him in the move that brought Miguel Cabrera to Detroit. Still, advantage has to go to Kershaw on this one, and the Dodgers as well.
- RHP Tim Lincecum (Giants) vs. Max Scherzer (Diamondbacks): Is this one about to turn? Obviously, as of this date, Lincecum, drafted tenth, has worked out as well as one could hope any draft pick could, while Scherzer, drafted eleventh, is still a work-in-progress who has already been traded once. But Lincecum has had uncharacteristic struggles with his control lately, even though his season ERA (3.14) and strikeout rate (10.4/9 innings) are not far off of his career marks. And Scherzer is coming off of a 14-strikeout performance, though four walks meant that he did so in just 5 2/3 innings. For now, though, a big edge to Lincecum, the two-time Cy Young Award winner.
- OF Tyler Colvin (Cubs) vs. Travis Snider (Blue Jays): Based on 2010 season line alone, this battle of the lefty-hitting outfielders would have to go to Colvin, drafted thirteenth, over Snider, drafted fourteenth. After all, Colvin has an OPS of .991 in 83 plate appearances this season, while Snider's stands at .806. But overall, it seems clear that the Blue Jays did better here. Snider came out of high school, while Colvin was a collegiate player. Yet Snider posted significantly better offensive numbers than Colvin as each player climbed their respective system ladders- a .916 to .785 edge in minor league OPS. Snider was holding down a regular job at age 22 before he hit the DL, while Colvin is struggling for a regular spot as his 25th birthday approaches. This one is debatable, but the smart money gives Toronto and Snider the edge.