Yankees May Have Interest In Kendrys Morales
FRIDAY: Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner wouldn’t rule out a pursuit of Morales when asked by George A. King III of the New York Post. “We never say never,” he told King. “We always look at all possibilities.” Steinbrenner did add that the current plan is to remain internal, but his answer was far more open-minded than the recent comments by Orioles executive VP Dan Duquette, who plainly stated that his team’s signing of Nelson Cruz closed the door on speculation regarding Morales.
King adds that while the Yankees aren’t too concerned about Teixeira’s ability to play — GM Brian Cashman termed him day to day — the outlook on Beltran is much cloudier. Cashman said it isn’t fair to speculate on Beltran either way. Beltran was able to handle a 25-swing soft toss session with hitting coach Kevin Long and is expected to try the exercise again today. Cashman said he’s hopeful that Beltran can graduate to rehab games soon, but as King notes, if the cortisone shots Beltran has received don’t do the job, he could miss more than two months with elbow surgery.
THURSDAY: The draft pick compensation that is hanging over Kendrys Morales‘ head is roughly a week away from being lifted, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from multiple Major League sources that the Yankees are among the teams with potential interest in the switch-hitting Scott Boras client.
The Yankees are concerned about injuries to first baseman Mark Teixeira (wrist inflammation) and Carlos Beltran (bone spurs in his elbow), and they lack a true backup first baseman, which caused them to play Brian McCann at first base for the first time in his pro career yesterday.
Rosenthal notes that the Mariners continue to signal that they don’t have the financial wherewithal to sign Morales, and the Brewers, among other NL clubs are concerned with his defense at first place. That concern isn’t as big for the Yankees, as Morales would still be an upgrade over McCann or Kelly Johnson, who are the current backups to Teixeira.
As Newsday’s David Lennon writes, Morales might seem an expensive insurance policy for the Yankees, but it’s also a potentially costly gamble to play the team’s $85MM catcher out of position. McCann, Lennon notes, indicated in the offseason that his preference was to delay any time at first base until later in his contract. He did admit to the fact that first base was less taxing on his body and a nice mental break, but he also told reporters that he was glad whenever a ball wasn’t hit to him.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says that he’d be surprised if the Yankees signed Morales, as every indication he’s received from the club is that they expect Beltran and Teixeira to be back and healthy (Twitter links). In that instance, signing Morales would create a logjam of first base/DH/corner outfield types with Teixeira, Beltran, and Alfonso Soriano already on the roster.
Brewers Outright Jeff Bianchi
MONDAY: The Brewers have announced that Bianchi has accepted his outright assignment. He will report to Triple-A Nashville.
SATURDAY: The Brewers have outrighted infielder Jeff Bianchi to Triple-A Nashville, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. It’s unclear whether Bianchi will accept his assignment.
Bianchi, 27, has hit .145/.172/.145 in 58 plate appearances while playing second, third and shortstop for the Brewers this season. He has a career batting line of .214/.249/.281 in 386 career plate appearances, most of them coming in 2013. He came up through the Royals system, but was claimed by the Cubs and then the Brewers in the 2011-2012 offseason.
Minor Moves: Feliciano, Falu, Sandoval, Gimenez
Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:
- The Cardinals have agreed to sign lefty Pedro Feliciano to a minor-league deal, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweeted last week that the two sides were close to a deal. Feliciano, 37, served as a LOOGY for the Mets during part of the 2013 season, pitching 25 appearances but only 11 1/3 innings and striking out nine batters while walking six. He has only pitched for the Mets in a big-league career that spans parts of nine seasons.
- The Brewers have purchased the contract of infielder Irving Falu and optioned pitcher Jimmy Nelson to Class AAA Nashville, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. After outrighting Jeff Bianchi to make room for Nelson yesterday, the Brewers wanted another infielder for their bench. Falu, 30, signed with the Brewers in December as a minor-league free agent. He has a career .337/.366/.427 line in 95 career big-league plate appearances, all with the Royals. He was hitting .288/.349/.341 in 156 plate appearances for Nashville.
- The Rays have released right-hander Juan Sandoval, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Sandoval, who is completely blind in his right eye, has appeared in 14 games (1 start) for Triple-A Durham this year pitching to a 3.12 ERA, 5.2 K/9, and 4.8 BB/9 in 26 innings. The 33-year-old has yet to reach the Majors.
- The Blue Jays have acquired catcher Hector Gimenez from the White Sox, according to the International League transactions page. Gimenez has struggled in Triple-A this season slashing .109/.234/.182 in 64 plate appearances for Charlotte. The 31-year-old saw his most extensive MLB action last year appearing in 26 games for the White Sox batting .191/.275/.338 in 80 plate appearances.
- Per MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, a pair of Pirates (Wandy Rodriguez and Phil Irwin) and a pair of Padres (Billy Buckner and Blaine Boyer) remain in DFA limbo.
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
Quick Hits: Drew, Nelson, Smith, Marquis, Hall, July 2
As expected, recently signed Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew has cleared waivers and appeared in his first minor league game for the organization, reports Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). The procedural move of placing Drew on revocable outright waivers — a mechanism through which claims are rarely made — was needed since he inked a big league deal. Here’s the latest from around the game:
- The Brewers will call up top pitching prospect Jimmy Nelson to start Sunday to take the rotation turn of Yovani Gallardo, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. At this point, at least, it seems that Nelson may only get one start, as Gallardo is not expected to miss significant time. As I explained back in April, Nelson already has 27 days of service to his credit. Accordingly, if he did stay in the bigs from this point forward, he would accrue enough service time to set himself up to become eligible for an additional year of arbitration as a Super Two player, though he will not be able to pass the one-year service mark by the end of the year.
- Milwaukee’s decision to deal for reliever Will Smith (in exchange for outfielder Norichika Aoki) has been a key element in the team’s success this year, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The team’s pro scouting staff gave Smith high marks, leading GM Doug Melvin to pull the trigger on the trade. He has allowed just one earned run in 21 2/3 innings of work, posting 12.9 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9.
- Pitcher Jason Marquis was scheduled to throw for scouts today, Rosenthal reports in the same piece. The 35-year-old had Tommy John surgery last summer after tossing 117 2/3 innings of 4.05 ball for the Padres.
- Another former big leaguer looking to make a return is infielder Bill Hall, who tweets that he is on the comeback trail. The 34-year-old has spent time at third, short, second, and all over the outfield in his 11 seasons of MLB action, and owns a career .248/.308/.436 line. He spent last year with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, putting up a .225/.321/.407 mark with 17 home runs in 452 plate appearances.
- Ben Badler of Baseball America has the latest updates on the July 2 market. Yesterday, Badler ticked through the top ten expected bonuses among players eligible to sign for the 2014-15 period, along with the clubs expected to land them. Leading the way is infielder Gilbert Lara, who has been linked to the Brewers and could earn $3MM. Four of the players are expected to go to the Yankees, with the Rays, Red Sox, and Blue Jays also said to be set up for some large outlays among AL East clubs. (The American League could also be in line to pick up the other two players on that list, with the Mariners potentially in position to sign outfielder Brayan Hernandez and the White Sox predicted to land righty Huascar Ynoa.) And today, he profiles a set of field position prospects who figure to be among the best available players, headlined by Venezuelan shortstop Kenny Hernandez, who Badler says could get a nine-figure bonus.
- Meanwhile, the Yankees are reportedly prepared to ink Korean shortstop Hyo-Jun Park for a $1.1MM bonus, according to a report from Korean outlet Naver (Korean language link; translated article; hat tip to River Ave. Blues ). Jason Cohen of Pinstripe Alley recently compiled the available information on Park, who is said to be a solid all-around player.
Latest On Kendrys Morales
News earlier today that Prince Fielder will miss the rest of the season sparked speculation that Kendrys Morales would be a fit to replace him, and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the team has indeed scouted the switch-hitting slugger’s workouts at the Scott Boras Training Institute in Miami. The Rangers, according to Heyman, had seen Morales work out even before the news of Fielder’s injury.
A pair of other clubs with potential need for an offensive boost have also watched Morales — the Brewers and Orioles. Additionally, the Mariners have remained in touch with Morales “at times,” according to Heyman. He adds that it isn’t hard to see the Brewers getting involved after the draft, especially if their offense continues to sputter (Milwaukee has dropped five of its past six games and scored just 15 runs in that time). Heyman runs down a list of potential suitors for Morales, though most are classified by him to be long shots.
In my estimation, the Brewers and Rangers appear to be the best fits on paper. The Orioles may want to keep their DH slot open for Matt Wieters, whose arm issues could prevent him from throwing and therefore from seeing time behind the plate. Seattle already has a large number of first base/DH types, though the news that Corey Hart will be out for an extended period of time and the persistent struggles of Justin Smoak could alter their plan of attack.
Barring a surprise push from the Mariners to re-sign Morales in the next two weeks, it seems unlikely that he’ll agree to a deal before the MLB Draft, which begins on June 5. Teams other than the Mariners, of course, will no longer be required to forfeit a draft pick should they sign Morales at that point.
NL Notes: Roark, Weeks, Gregorius, Marlins, Mets, Cards
The Nationals‘ unheralded acquisition of current fifth starter Tanner Roark represents a “triumph of scouting,” writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. With the Nats looking to dump the salary of Christian Guzman back in 2010, the team identified the little-known Roark as a potentially useful arm and picked him up along with righty Ryan Tatusko. While Roark was the real prize of that swap, GM Mike Rizzo says that Tatusko (who owns a 2.15 ERA through seven starts at Triple-A) could reach the bigs himself “somehow, somewhere, with somebody.”
Here’s more out of Washington and the rest of the National League:
- Much-maligned Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks has been reasonably productive this year, and could potentially be dealt if Milwaukee can find an interested partner, writes Rosenthal. The 31-year-old, who is earning $11MM this year before he reaches the open market, has a .318/.375/.364 line through just 48 plate appearances. Somewhat curiously, and counter to his career tendencies, the right-handed hitter has been knocking around same-handed hurlers (.954 OPS) while struggling against southpaws (.541) in an approximately even number of appearances against pitchers of both sides. Rosenthal mentions the Cardinals and Orioles as possible matches, though the former seems unlikely with Milwaukee leading the division. (Of course, Baltimore already owns the rights to Weeks’s younger brother, fellow second bagger Jemile Weeks.)
- The Diamondbacks are still in no rush to deal shortstop Didi Gregorius, who is spending some time at second while fellow middle infield prospect Nick Ahmed sees time at short. Rosenthal notes that the team is unlikely to field a double-play combination of Gregorius and Chris Owings unless it saw fit to deal keystone stalwart Aaron Hill, who earns $12MM both this year and next.
- There is little doubt of the biggest story in baseball right now: the UCL tear of Marlins‘ young ace Jose Fernandez. With the club still in the thick of things in the NL East, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro suggests that Miami should consider a bold move: a trade for Jeff Samardzija of the Cubs. While top prospect Andrew Heaney offers some hope of filling Fernandez’s shoes (to the extent that is possible), Frisaro says that Samardzija “could save the season” for the Fish. Of course, acquiring him could well require parting with Heaney — if not more, if the Cubs’ ace continues his current dominance. Samardzija comes with another year of control after the present, though he’ll be fairly expensive after earning $5.345MM in his second trip through arbitration.
- While weighing a call-up of Heaney, if not a more drastic move, the Marlins will promote Anthony DeSclafani for his first big league action, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel. Baseball America tabbed DeSclafani as the team’s fifth-best prospect coming into the season, saying that the 24-year-old (who came over in the infamous Blue Jays trade) could top out as a number three starter or back-end reliever.
- Whatever the intentions of Mets‘ co-owner Saul Katz, any sale of his portion of the team’s equity is not likely to change the control of the club, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Heyman walks through the reasons that, even if Katz looks to move some or all of his shares, the Wilpon family is quite likely to stay in charge in New York.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak acknowledges that he finds the club’s middling start “concerning,” reports MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. While the team has plenty of internal possibilities to shake things up, Mozeliak says that he does not intend to just go with what he has if the situation warrants change. “I can’t imagine us just doing nothing all season and just say our strategy is you’re going to rise up to your mean,” said Mozeliak, who said the club’s 19-20 record may actually be an over-achievement at this point. “For us, there are some things we want to be sensitive to. The month of July is an opportunity to maybe change the look of your club if you have to. The clock’s ticking, but it’s not in a panic mode or a reactionary place where you have to just do something to do something. I think people have to be aware that this is not acceptable baseball at this point.”
Cafardo On Drew, Yankees, Lester, Morales
In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders why Red Sox fans have been heading for the exits early this season. Cafardo surveyed his Twitter followers for the answer and got a wide range of excuses, but winter weather was the No. 1 overall answer. More from today’s column..
- One major league source indicated the Yankees may change their thinking on whether to sign Stephen Drew if they find Derek Jeter can’t endure a full season at shortstop. The Yankees, according to the source, don’t want the Red Sox to get a draft pick, so they’d wait at least through the June draft so there would be no compensation. Ken Rosenthal theorized yesterday that it might make sense for the Red Sox to re-sign Drew if only to keep him away from the Yankees. If Boston wanted to, they could theoretically move Xander Bogaerts to third base in order to make room.
- This winter’s free agent class includes Max Scherzer, James Shields, and Justin Masterson, but one National League General Manager sees Jon Lester as the top available pitcher. “Lester is the most appealing,” said the GM. “He’s left-handed, a bulldog, big-game experience, and just 30. Will he get six or seven years? I’d say he will.”
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin acknowledged that Kendrys Morales’ name came up in the team’s first base discussions, but, “there are just a pool of players we can’t consider because of the National League-American League dynamic. That’s why I’m hoping we’re all playing by the same set of rules someday. It’s a reason we had to let Corey Hart go because we play 36 day games and it’s tough to come back after a night game.”
Rosenthal On Ramirez, Sandoval, Drew, Morales
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via two videos from FOX Sports:
- The Dodgers would like Hanley Ramirez to prove he can stay healthy before signing him to an extension, Rosenthal reports. Ramirez has played in fewer than 100 games in two of the past three seasons. He can become a free agent this winter.
- The Giants want to keep Pablo Sandoval, but would prefer to sign him to a shorter deal due to his inconsistency and weight issues. Sandoval is also off to a poor start this season, hitting .171/.250/.276 thus far.
- It might still make sense for the Red Sox to re-sign Stephen Drew, particularly given that signing him would prevent him from signing with the Yankees. The Red Sox could move Xander Bogaerts to third base in order to clear space for Drew. The team would prefer not to do that, though, allowing him to develop at shortstop.
- Scott Boras is trying to pique the Brewers‘ interest in Kendrys Morales, Rosenthal suggests. Whether the Brewers would have interest might depend on their perception of Morales’ defense at first base, however. Milwaukee currently has Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay splitting time at first.
AL East Notes: July 2 Spending, Blue Jays, Jeter
The American League East is about as tightly clustered as possible at this point, with just 1.5 games separating the field. With plenty of interesting situations developing in the division’s five organizations, it should (as usual) be a fascinating race to watch — both on the field and in the transactional rumor mill. Here’s the latest:
- In a preview — or, in some respects, a roundup — of the July 2 prospect signing period, Ben Badler of Baseball America says that the American League East figures to lead the way in spending. We have already heard about the Yankees‘ plans to blow well past their bonus limits on this year’s international prospect market, but Badler says that the division-rival Rays and Red Sox also appear poised to incur the maximum penalties for going beyond their pool allocations. (In an earlier report, Scout.com’s Kiley McDaniel reported upon many of the verbal agreements and rumored matches that form the basis of Badler’s piece.) If that holds true, then each of those three AL East competitors — and, potentially, the Brewers — would not only pay a 100% tax on any over-bonus spending, but would also sacrifice the right to sign any July 2 player to more than a $300K bonus next year.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos spoke today about several current topics involving his club, with MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm among those present (links to Twitter). Anthopoulos made clear that there were no active trade discussions taking place at present with rival front offices, which is surely unsurprising at this stage of the season.
- Anthopoulos also provided new information on two situations that we touched upon last night. First, he said that injured starter Brandon Morrow was expected to avoid surgery and could return around the All-Star break, meaning that he may still contribute in 2014 and could conceivably pitch well enough to entice Toronto to pick up his 2015 club option ($10MM/$1MM buyout). Meanwhile, the GM threw cold water on the idea of permanently transitioning Brett Lawrie to second base to free playing time for Juan Francisco. Of course, that still leaves other possibilities for the Jays to keep Francisco in the fold when Adam Lind returns from injury.
- With Yankees infielder Brendan Ryan making his way back to the club, manager Joe Girardi will face an increasingly complicated situation, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Of course, Derek Jeter remains entrenched at short for the time being, but the living legend has struggled at the plate and in the field. New York GM Brian Cashman recently confirmed that Girardi has full authority to determine who plays and where they hit in the lineup. And Sherman notes that the manager has made several moves — both with respect to former catcher Jorge Posada and, more recently, involving Jeter himself — that hint he is not afraid to ruffle some feathers if necessary to win. With the division shaping up to go down to the wire, Sherman says that Girardi may need to “play[] bad cop” in dividing playing time going forward.
Central Notes: Chapman, Wong, Weeks, ChiSox, Cubs
On this date 70 years ago, Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis (home to the National League’s Cardinals and the American League’s Browns) became the final MLB stadium to integrate seating for fans. Although there was no official team or municipal policy, African-Americans were restricted to the bleachers before finally being allowed to purchase grandstand tickets.
Here’s today’s news and notes from MLB’s Central divisions:
- Reds closer Aroldis Chapman is expected to rejoin the club this Friday, if his final two rehab appearances go well, reports MLB.com’s Andy Call. Chapman, who was struck by a line drive during a Spring Training game and needed a three-inch plate and 12 screws to stabilize the bones around his left eye, is scheduled to pitch in back-to-back Triple-A games beginning Tuesday.
- Last year, the Cardinals sent a highly-touted prospect (Michael Wacha) to the minors after a disappointing start only to become a key player for them late in the season, and they are hoping history repeats itself with Kolten Wong, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- The Brewers should consider all alternatives when it comes to Rickie Weeks because his offensive struggles and being limited to only playing second base puts pressure on the organization, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak in a recent reader’s chat.
- Both Chicago franchises, with the right returns in trades, could accelerate their rebuilding, opines Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Gonzales notes shedding Alexei Ramirez‘s salary would allow the White Sox to address other needs while the Cubs may deal Jason Hammel hoping for results similar to last summer’s flip of Scott Feldman.