Brewers Close With Kentrail Davis?
3:23pm: McCalvy now writes that talks could extend into Monday; it's the seventh inning in Milwaukee, and there's no sign of Davis yet.
1:21pm: Last night, we heard general manager Doug Melvin say that he expected a deal to be reached with supplemental pick Kentrail Davis prior to the signing deadline. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy now reports that the Brewers are "set to sign" Davis, who has arrived in Milwaukee for today's game. McCalvy writes:
Davis, who is 5'9" and 200 pounds, played center field at Tennessee, but scouts report that an average throwing arm might mean that his future is in left field. The lefty led his team in hitting in 2008, notching a .330 average while clubbing 13 home runs, knocking in 44 runs, and posting a .435 on base percentage. In 2009, he hit .308 with 9 home runs and 30 runs batted in.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Nationals, Padres, Hardy, Smoltz
FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's dig in for some rumory goodness…
- This coming week may the biggest week in Nationals' history. In addition to Monday's midnight deadline to sign first overall pick Stephen Strasburg, the Nats could pick their next general manager as early as Tuesday.
- "The buzz in scouting circles" is that Diamondbacks executive Jerry DiPoto is the frontrunner for the job, but the team has given "absolutely no indication of its plans." Acting GM Mike Rizzo has "generally gotten good reviews."
- The Padres put both Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell on trade waivers Friday. Both are likely to be claimed, but don't count on either getting traded. The team says that the Jake Peavy trade has greatly reduced the pressure on them to move either Gonzalez or Bell.
- If either player is going to be moved, it would most likely happen in the offseason when the Padres could negotiate will all 29 other teams.
- If shortstop J.J. Hardy stays in Triple-A for more than 20 days, he'll remain under the Brewers control for two more years instead of one. Such a move would enhance Hardy's trade value, and it would be tough for him to argue it's unfair given his lack of production this year. However, if service time was an issue, the club should have demoted him a lot sooner.
- Marlins righty Anibal Sanchez was throwing 90-94 in his most recent rehab start, and his return would lessen the pressure on some of the team's other young starters.
- The Marlins and Cardinals are among the teams looking at John Smoltz as a reliever. The Cards are also looking at a number of other righthanded options for their bullpen.
Odds & Ends: Anderson, Rangers, Brew Crew
Another batch of links, served fresh…
- According to WEEI's Rob Bradford, the Red Sox have called up Brian Anderson and plan to start him in right field tonight against the Rangers. The former White Sox outfielder was acquired in late July for Mark Kotsay.
- T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports the Rangers are "actively looking for catching help on the trade market" with starting backstop Jarrod Saltalamacchia headed for the disabled list. Arizona's Chris Snyder seems like a good fit, but that's just speculation on our part.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he's optimistic a deal will be reached with supplemental first-round pick Kentrail Davis by Monday's deadline. Davis is an outfielder from the University of Tennessee.
- Check MLBTR out on Twitter for quick updates and a little more conversation. And, if you're so inclined, hit up your boy Drew Silva.
Odds & Ends: Bedard, Rays, Hall, Brewers
A few more loose links I rounded up…
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times that he "has not ruled out offering some type of extension deal to injured pitcher Erik Bedard." Of course, the club will monitor Bedard's recovery from shoulder surgery before doing anything.
- The Rays have signed fourth rounder Luke Bailey for $750K according to Baseball America's Jim Callis. Bailey was arguably the top high school catcher in the draft, but he blew out his elbow in the spring and needed Tommy John surgery.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer's Tom Groeschen mentions that the Reds have interest in infielder Bill Hall, who was DFA'd by the Brewers earlier this week.
- According to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, the Brewers "appear headed toward a deal with their highest remaining unsigned selection, University of Tennessee outfielder Kentrail Davis." A month ago we heard that negotiations between the two sides had "gotten ugly." McCalvy also mentions that the Crew signed 5th rounder D'Vontrey Richardson and 15th rounder Del Howell.
- Larry LaRue of The News Tribune says the Mariners "may be on the brink of agreement with high school outfielder Nick Franklin." Seattle selected Frankin 27th overall, and LaRue notes that he'll take a physical tomorrow.
- Jack Etkin of Inside The Rockies reports that the team has released veteran reliever Mike Timlin. Timlin preferred to be home with his wife and children rather than go out on a road trip with the Triple-A Colorado Springs. The move was not performance related and there were no hard feelings on either side.
- The Nationals have signed eighth rounder Roberto Perez, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladsen. The Nats have now signed 10 of their top 12 picks, but they're still waiting on the big guy at the top.
Odds And Ends: Meche, Hall, Red Sox, Pirates
Time for another round of links…
- Via Twitter, Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Royals told the Yankees they don't want to trade Gil Meche.
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon hears that the Reds have "some interest" in the recently-DFA'd Bill Hall.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the Red Sox signed 26th rounder Miles Head for $335k, which is more than double MLB's recommended bonus.
- The Red Sox are also nearing deals with David Renfroe and Madison Younginer, whose could each sign for seven figures.
- Callis reports that the Pirates signed 12th rounder Jeff Inman for $425k. Yet another over-slot signing for the Pirates and now Callis says they've been more aggressive than any other team.
Odds And Ends: Dodgers, Davis, Prospects
More links for the afternoon…
- Jon Weisman of the LA Times reports that the Dodgers could be close to signing Garrett Gould.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic notes that it looks like Doug Davis is staying put, even though the Brewers claimed him on waivers.
- The recently-traded Josh Bell and Carlos Carrasco appear on this week's edition of Baseball America's prospect hot sheet.
- Tyler Hissey of Around the Majors says the Red Sox did well to acquire the sure-handed Alex Gonzalez, even if he's only a minor upgrade for them.
- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports that Orioles manager Dave Trembley doesn't have to worry about his job security through the end of the season.
Gonzalez Clears Waivers; Red Sox Interested?
Reds shortstop Alex Gonzalez has cleared waivers and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Red Sox may be interested. The extent of their interest isn't clear, but Rosenthal says they're considering Gonzalez and other options as they try to solidify the shortstop position. Now that Gonzalez has cleared waivers, the Reds can trade him to any club.
Gonzalez, 32, makes $5.4MM this year and is hitting .210/.258/.296.
The Red Sox showed brief interest in Bill Hall. The Brewers haven't yet placed shortstop J.J. Hardy on waivers and it's unclear if they'd trade him now, while he's in the minors.
D’Backs Offered Davis An Extension?
The D'Backs appear to have offered Doug Davis a one-year extension, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Davis, who has been the subject of trade rumors since the Brewers claimed him on waivers, confirms that the D'Backs approached him with "an idea," but says it didn't appeal to him. Davis says he's more likely to test free agency after the season, but Piecoro suggests the club could offer him a two-year deal before then.
Odds And Ends: Macha, Harang, Smoltz
This round of links is on me…
- Brewers manager Ken Macha told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that he manages the same whether others think he has complete job security or not.
- Erik Manning of FanGraphs says it's hard to tell whether Aaron Harang has enough value to offset his contract going forward, but he suggests it's possible.
- Via Twitter, Rob Neyer of ESPN.com has some fun and asks if Yuniesky Betancourt is the worst player in baseball history.
- Over at MLBTR's Facebook page, we have a discussion about John Smoltz on the go.
Doug Davis Claimed By Brewers; Deal Unlikely
1:35pm: Doug Melvin tells Haudricourt that there are no talks between the Brewers and D'Backs right now, though they did speak yesterday.
11:59am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Brewers aren't confident they can trade for Davis. Rosenthal hears that they have until 12pm CST tomorrow to strike a deal.
THURSDAY, 8:27am: Davis likes the idea of returning to Milwaukee, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. However, after talking with Brewers GM Doug Melvin, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel finds a reunion unlikely. Davis' projected Type B status is apparently driving Arizona's asking price.
At 63.4 points as of August 9th, Davis is in good shape for Type B classification. But is that potential supplemental draft pick worth more than $2.5MM in salary relief? And would the D'Backs really offer Davis arbitration, risking paying him more than $9MM in 2010? They do have the payroll room, and face question marks in the rotation next year after Dan Haren and Max Scherzer.
WEDNESDAY, 9:57pm: Nick Piecoro at the Arizona Republic also gets confirmation that the Brewers claimed Davis, and says that a deal is not likely but cannot be ruled out. He hears the claim was made because the Brewers hold real interest in Davis, not as a tactic to block other teams.
9:25pm: Heyman's sources confirm that it was the Brewers who claimed Davis. The Diamondbacks now can choose to either talk a trade, allow the Brewers to claim Davis or pull him back.
8:50pm: According to SI.com's Jon Heyman (via Twitter), Diamondbacks lefty Doug Davis has been claimed by an unknown team.
Davis has been named quite often in the recent past as a candidate to be moved. Heyman speculates that the claiming team could be the Brewers, as they've been having a "pro-active day." Tom Haudricourt at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel thinks that's a good guess, as the Brewers already made a run at Davis before the deadline. Davis made comments earlier today saying that he doubted the D'backs were planning to negotiate on an extension and called a trade to a contender a "win-win" situation for him.
Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.