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AL Central Notes: Morales, Kubel, Rodon

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The Twins’ decision to sign Kendrys Morales is not only a short-term boost to the club but could have long-term benefits as well, writes Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs. While the Twins haven’t been good to this point, they’ve also been better than many expected, and adding Morales could help keep them in contention should other aspects of the team pick up. If not, Morales will become a valuable trade chip come late July. The elements of Morales game that scared other teams — rust and his price tag, specifically — will have faded, making him an above-average bat that can be added for a useful prospect.

Here’s more on Morales and the rest of the American League Central…

  • The Twins’ first call to agent Scott Boras regarding Morales came on Wednesday of last week, assistant GM Rob Antony tells Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Three days later, the two sides had an agreement in place. Berardino adds that the deal is a testament to GM Terry Ryan’s recovery from skin cancer treatment, as Ryan handled the entire negotiation process on his own without any assistance from Antony.
  • Berardino also tweets that Jason Kubel, whom the Twins designated for assignment to clear roster space for Morales, indicated to Ryan that he likely wouldn’t have interest in accepting an assignment to Triple-A Rochester should he clear waivers.
  • The White Sox are confident that they will work out a deal to sign third-overall draft choice Carlos Rodon, reports Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com. GM Rick Hahn said that the club went after the top player on its board, and was not deterred by the fact that he is being advised by Scott Boras. “I tend to be an optimistic guy,” said Hahn. “I never anticipate problems. Look, in reality, we have a history with Scott, a positive history with Scott. … A fair amount of this concern, or discussion on how this could be difficult, I think is unnecessary and really not significant to us determining what’s going to happen here.” Rodon’s slot comes with a $5.72MM allotment, but was said before the draft to be seeking a bonus of over $6MM. With a shade over $9.5MM in pool money at the team’s disposal, Chicago could potentially use savings from other picks if it decides to go over slot for Rondon.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Twins Sign Nick Gordon

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3:00pm: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that Gordon also receives scholarship money, which takes the deal’s value to roughly $4MM, though the scholarship’s value doesn’t count against the Twins’ bonus pool.

1:31pm: Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via Twitter) that Gordon signed for the slot value of $3.851MM.

1:21pm: The Twins announced, via press release, that they have agreed to terms with fifth overall pick Nick Gordon. The highly touted Gordon will head to Fort Myers, Fla. to participate in Twins mini-camp before joining the Rookie-level Elizabethton Twins in the Appalachian League. That season begins on June 19.

Nick Gordon

Gordon, a high school shortstop out of Florida, is the son of longtime Major League closer Tom Gordon and the brother of current Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon. He ranked fourth among draft prospects per ESPN’s Keith Law, fifth according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis, and sixth according to Baseball America.

Scouts have praised Gordon’s speed, arm and glove as his best tools, noting that he’s a very good bet to remain at shortstop in pro ball. That doesn’t mean that he’s an all-glove prospect, however, as his bat has drawn high praise as well. Law noted that Gordon has “surprising power given his small frame; largely thanks to very strong wrists and above-average bat speed.” Mayo and Callis touched on Gordon’s ability to use the entire field at the plate, while BA called him an above-average hitter with doubles power that many scouts feel will grow into average home run power as he learns to pull the ball. MLBTR’s Zach Links spoke with Gordon prior to the draft as part of MLBTR’s Draft Prospect Q&A series.

Gordon was committed to Florida State, though the expectation was that he would sign out of the draft. He is the third consecutive Top 5 pick that the struggling Twins have had; Minnesota selected No. 1 overall prospect Byron Buxton with the second pick in the 2012 draft and picked right-hander Kohl Stewart with the No. 4 overall selection in last year’s draft. Gordon is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Twins Sign Kendrys Morales

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SUNDAY, 10:34am: The Twins confirmed the signing via press release.

SATURDAY, 2:00pm: Kendrys Morales and the Twins have agreed to terms, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. The deal is pending a physical. Morales will receive one year and a prorated portion of a $12MM salary, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. That amounts to about $7.5MM. As FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal noted, that’s fairly similar to, but less than, the $10MM deal Stephen Drew recently received from the Red Sox. Since Morales will not spend the full season with the Twins, they will not be able to extend him a qualifying offer next offseason. Morales is represented by Scott Boras.

Kendys Morales

Morales had been connected to the Mariners, Rangers, Yankees and Brewers, and his signing with the Twins comes as a bit of a surprise. Morales, of course, was a free agent over the winter but had a minimal market after he declined a qualifying offer from the Mariners, which meant that any team that signed him (other than Seattle, which added Corey Hart and Logan Morrison in the offseason) would have to forfeit a draft pick. When the draft began, however, teams became free to sign Morales without losing a pick.

Morales, who turns 31 this month, has hit .280/.333/.480 in parts of seven seasons with the Angels and Mariners, including .277/.336/.449 last year. Since 2010, he has mostly been a designated hitter, although he played 31 games at first last season.

Morales seems likely to serve as Minnesota’s full-time DH, as Twins designated hitters have batted just .216/.323/.403 this year, and they have Joe Mauer at first base. The Twins have struggled in the outfield, but Morales has not played in the outfield since 2008. The Twins have used a variety of DHs this year, however, and by having Morales as their regular DH, they could use hitters like Josh Willingham less at DH and more in the outfield, potentially reducing the number of plate appearances for less productive outfielders like Jason Kubel and Chris Parmelee. Catcher Josmil Pinto has also logged significant time at DH.

Morales was one of several players this offseason who struggled in the free agent market after declining a qualifying offer. Drew only recently signed his prorated one-year deal with the Red Sox, and Nelson Cruz ultimately took a one-year deal with the Orioles. All three players ended up with significantly less than they would have gotten if they had accepted their qualifying offers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Notes On Kendrys Morales Signing

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In case you missed it, the Twins finally brought an end to this year’s post-qualifying offer market, inking first baseman/DH Kendrys Morales to a deal that will pay him at a $12MM annual rate (around $7.5MM for the rest of the year). Morales will ultimately take home slightly less than Nelson Cruz takes home from the Orioles, though he’ll have to play much fewer games to earn it and will not be eligible for a qualifying offer next year. (Of course, he will also fall well shy of the $14.1MM qualifying offer that he rejected.)

Here’s the latest on the Morales signing:

  • The Mariners did make an offer to Morales within the last two days, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The value of the offer was not reported. Seattle, of course, will not receive any draft compensation for losing Morales, since he waited to sign until after the first day of this year’s amateur draft.
  • Yankees manager Joe Girardi says that he was not involved in any discussions about the possibility of adding Morales, reports Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. “[W]e thought [Mark Teixeira’s] injury wasn’t going to keep him out for a long period of time,” explained Girardi. “We were pretty confident that we were going to get [Carlos Beltran] back.” While New York had been said to be a possible suitor, the most recent report indicated that the team had been rebuffed when it asked agent Scott Boras to hold off on signing while the team evaluated the health of Teixeira and Beltran.
  • Morales is likely to slot right into the Twins’ MLB lineup in spite of his layoff, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He figures to provide an immediate boost to the offense, even if he’s rusty, as Minnesota has received scant production from the first base and designated hitter slots in the lineup. On the other hand, it would be surprising to see the team take at bats away from Joe Mauer, and utilizing Morales as the primary DH will mean that the team can put only one of its two most productive hitters thus far (catchers Kurt Suzuki and Josmil Pinto) in the lineup. Of course, Suzuki remains a candidate to be traded away over the summer.
  • Adding Morales represents another move that increases the Twins’ ability to compete in the short term without sacrificing long-term value, writes Dan Szymborski for ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). Morales projects to be a roughly league-average DH, says Szymborski, but that sort of player would cost prospects to acquire via trade. And while the team may still have an uphill path to contention, it does sit just under .500, only five back in the AL Central and two-and-a-half out of the Wild Card. Like Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes, who were inked to long-term deals over the offseason, Morales does not require Minnesota to cough up a draft choice.

Draft Signings: Twins, Royals, Rangers, D’Backs, Cubs

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Here’s a roundup of today’s key news regarding signings from the draft.

  • The Twins have agreed to a slightly below-slot bonus with 9th rounder Max Murphy, tweets Cotillo. The Bradley outfielder will get $130K, just over $20K below his slot amount.
  • A few more drafted players have agreed to terms with the Royals, per Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link), though bonus amounts have not yet been reported. High school shortstop Dawon Burt (fourth round; $420K slot) and Texas A&M righty Corey Ray (fifth round; $314K slot) are both in agreement, joining sixth-rounder Logan Moon (see below).
  • The Rangers have agreed to terms with fourth-rounder Brett Martin on a $475K deal, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets. The deal comes in $67K above the $408K bonus pool value of the pick. The lefty Martin hails from a Tennessee junior college.
  • The Rangers have also agreed to terms with tenth-rounder and Abilene Christian catcher Seth Spivey for $10K, tweets MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo. The signing would allow the Rangers to save about $128K against their bonus pool, which would appear to help them balance their budget after the Martin signing is complete.
  • The Diamondbacks have signed third-rounder Matt Railey, the outfielder himself tweets. Railey, a Florida high-schooler, had a commitment to Florida State. There is no immediate word on his bonus, but the pool value of the pick is $603K.
  • The Cubs have agreed to terms with third-rounder and Virginia Tech catcher Mark Zagunis for $615K, Cotillo tweets. The deal saves the Cubs about $100K against the draft pool value of the pick.
  • The Astros have agreed to terms with eighth-rounder Bobby Boyd, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports. There is no immediate word on a bonus for the junior outfielder from West Virginia University, but pool value for that pick is around $163K. McTaggart also reports that the Astros have agreed to terms with tenth-rounder Jay Gause, a junior pitcher from Faulkner University. The pool value for Gause’s pick is $142K.
  • Georgia high school lefty Mac Marshall plans to head to LSU rather than going pro, the pitcher himself tweets. MLB.com had ranked Marshall the No. 66 prospect in the draft, but he was not taken until the 21st round by Houston, surely due in large part to teams’ awareness of his reluctance to sign.
  • The Reds have agreed to terms with fifth-rounder Tejay Antone, a tall righty from a Texas community college, at the bonus-pool figure of $308K, Cotillo tweets. Antone had planned to head to Auburn next year if he didn’t end up signing.
  • The Royals have agreed to terms with sixth-round pick Logan Moon, Cotillo tweets. The senior outfielder from Missouri Southern will get less than the bonus pool value of about $235K.

Draft Notes: Negotiations, Mocks, Wall, White Sox, Twins, Padres

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As noted last night, the exchange of information between teams and draftee advisers is a widespread, critical component of the MLB amateur draft process. It is also, of course, one that takes place in something of a gray area, owing largely to the NCAA rules that threaten the amateur status of players who retain advisers. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports has obtained and published an interesting memorandum sent by MLB to its member clubs, which was later forwarded by the MLBPA to certified agents, setting forth the rules by which parties are expected to engage one another. According to the memo, clubs cannot enter into pre-draft agreements or understandings. Teams are permitted to ask what a player would sign for, but cannot condition a selection on a promise that the player will accept a certain bonus. Likewise, advisers are forbidden from saying that a player has a deal with another club or threaten to do so if demands are not met. Passan calls the document “a farce,” writing that “both parties drawing up these rules ignore them fundamentally.”

Here’s the latest as the hours tick down to the draft, which is set to begin at 6:00 central time (with the Astros’ first overall pick expected to be made at 6:12 CST):

  • The MLB.com prospect team has published its latest mock draft, with both Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis agreeing that Brady Aiken, Carlos Rodon, and Tyler Kolek will go 1-2-3. They disagree on the next choice, with Mayo tabbing catcher Kyle Schwarber to the Cubs and Callis predicting that Chicago will instead go with outfielder Michael Conforto. (Each prognosticator predicts just the opposite result with the Rockies’ in the eighth slot.)
  • In its latest iteration, the Baseball America mock largely concurs with MLB.com through pick eight, but begins to differ at that point.The biggest disconnect occurs at the tenth slot, where BA expects the Mets to take high school second baseman Forrest Wall. MLB.com sees Wall lasting until the Rangers select 30th overall, while noting that he could be nabbed by New York.
  • White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper says that he likes all four of the arms rated most highly by the team, including the three mentioned above along with Aaron Nola, but prefers Aiken, reports Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com. “I liked them all,” said Cooper. “I liked the kid Aiken maybe the best. But a high school kid, that’s going to be a little longer. The closest to the big leagues Rodon and the second closest was Nola. It’s hard not to like the stuff coming out of the hand of Kolek. Those high school kids, there’s work to be done there.”
  • Expectation is building that the Twins will go with shortstop Nick Gordon at fifth overall, with Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reporting (Twitter links) that the team has seen him more than any other. Indeed, two key team executives have watched him in action more than ten times apiece, says Wolfson.
  • The Padres are eyeing a position player with the 13th overall pick, likely from the college ranks, reports MLB.com’s Corey Brock. “We’ve tried to go back and get to know and see these college players more,” said scouting director Billy Gasparino. “We have been really aggressive with high school guys, but this year feels like a good college crop.” Of course, as Brock notes, the team’s ultimate direction remains very much dependent upon who goes before they are on the clock, and it would not be surprising to see the club add an arm.
  • If you haven’t already, remember to check out MLBTR’s Q&A sessions with top draft prospects Braxton Davidson, Aaron Nola, Jacob Gatewood, Michael Chavis, Nick Gordon, Nick Burdi, and Bradley Zimmer.

Draft Notes: Aiken, Movers, Twins, D’Backs, Debates

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The MLB amateur draft is set to begin tomorrow, meaning that all the guesswork and speculation will soon be over … until the players selected officially join the big league prospect ranks, at least. If you are interested in learning how teams get to where they are at this point, making final determinations on their draft board, be sure to check out this article via Tony Blengino of Fangraphs. And if you’re wondering how your team has fared in recent years, be sure to check out this piece from Ben Lindbergh on FOX Sports.

Here’s the latest on the draft …

  • High school lefty Brady Aiken lands atop both the final mock and overall draft prospect ranking of ESPN.com’s Keith Law (Insider links). Law says that Aiken is not only the best talent available, but also has a “clean record of light usage.” It is interesting to note the similarities to this point in their careers between Aiken and current Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, as the Baseball Draft Report has observed. Back in 2006, Baseball America said that the tall, athletic Kershaw had increased his stock to near the top of the draft by moving his fastball up into the low-to-mid 90s and improving his curve ball and overall command. BA said much the same of Aiken this year, citing his own athleticism, frame, recent velocity increase, power curve, and outstanding command.
  • Among the big movers in Law’s rankings include high school righty Luis Ortiz, who moves to the tenth slot after returning strong from an early-season forearm strain, and prep lefty Justus Sheffield, who moved from 34 up to 21. Headed in the other direction is collegiate outfielder Bradley Zimmer, who Law drops from fifth overall to the twelfth slot.
  • While the bonus slot system has changed the draft dynamic, pre-draft chatter with player advisers remains a key aspect of the process. Twins assistant GM Rob Antony gave an interesting perspective on those negotiations in an interview with Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. This year, Antony says, Minnesota is focused primarily on determining signability not to to get a bargain, but to ensure it can sign the best player left on the board with the fifth overall pick. He explained: “We don’t say, ’We’ll give you this, will you take it?’ We just say, ’What are you looking for? We’re picking at five. You know what our slot number is. Is he signable?'”
  • This is a key draft for the Diamondbacks , who hold five of the first 89 choices and are in need of replenishing a system that has sent out some talent in recent years, writes Zach Buchanan of AZCentral.com. Then, there is the fact that the big league club has struggled and is still in the early stages of a front office shake-up. New chief baseball officer Tony LaRussa says he is mostly observing, learning, and submitting his observations to the team’s “experts.” In terms of the substance of the draft, GM Kevin Towers indicated that he thinks the team can add arms later in a draft that is said to be full of them. “I’ve always felt in all drafts … that your good hitters are going to go off the board rather quickly, whether it be high school or college,” he said. “If you’re looking for that outfield bat or that premier-type catcher, you’re going to have to take them early.”
  • There are three key debates entering the draft, writes ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden (Insider piece). According to Bowden, the top position player comes down to high schoolers Alex Jackson and Nick Gordon; the third-best pitcher is arguably not Tyler Kolek, but Touki Toussaint (though he prefers the former); and the best corner outfield bat could be either Kyle Schwarber or Michael Conforto.

AL Central Notes: Iglesias, Tigers, Hicks, Masterson

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Any Tigers fans that were holding out hope for a Jose Iglesias return in late 2014 will have to wait until next year, as GM Dave Dombrowski told Tony Paul of the Detroit News today that the team doesn’t expect the defensive wizard back at any point in 2014. Previous reports had indicated that Iglesias was likely to miss “most” of 2014 with stress fractures in his shins, though most were already operating under the assumption that his season was indeed lost. Detroit has a definite need at short, as the players that have manned the position to this point have combined for an MLB-worst .187/.239/.235 batting line while adding negative defensive contributions according to both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved.

Some more links pertaining to the Tigers and their division…

  • James Schmel of MLive.com fielded plenty of interesting questions in his latest Twitter mailbag, including some on Victor Martinez’s future with the Tigers and the team’s deadline approach. He feels V-Mart will receive a qualifying offer, but the Tigers will be hesitant about a deal of three of more years for their aging DH. He adds that the Tigers likely feel they’re set in the outfield with Andy Dirks on the mend, but it’s not hard to envision them targeting some rotation depth next month.
  • The Twins are continuing to look for a stopgap option in center field so they can option Aaron Hicks to the minors, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. One potential option, Sam Fuld, is currently nearing a rehab assignment after sustaining a concussion last month, Neal writes. Hicks recently gave up switch-hitting in favor of what has long been a superior right-handed stroke, but learning to gauge breaking balls from right-handed pitchers as a right-handed hitter at the Major League level is a tall task. Hicks’ .722 OPS as a right-handed hitter in his career dwarfs his .549 mark from the left side.
  • Justin Masterson spoke with WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford on the Indians’ recent trip to Boston about his contract situation. Masterson said he’s following his former teammate Jon Lester’s lead as the pair approaches free agency, not letting it distract him after failing to reach an extension agreement in Spring Training. “I’m the exact same way. One way or another, something is going to happen. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about it or not.” He added that while he hasn’t tracked the success of other impending free agents, he has kept an eye on Lester’s numbers, but only because the two are friends.

Draft Links: Padres, Ryan, Phillies, Jays

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The 2014 amateur draft is only three days away, so here’s the first batch of what will surely be a ton of draft-related items this week…

  • The Padres won’t draft Jeff Hoffman or Erick Fedde with the 13th overall pick, sources tell Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Both college right-handers recently underwent Tommy John surgery and though the team “briefly kicked the idea around” of taking one of the highly-touted pitchers in hopes of a full recovery, the risk seemed too high at that point in the first round.  “We want to take someone who is healthy. There are too many good options on the board,” assistant GM Chad MacDonald said.
  • The Twins are likely to again focus on pitching in this draft, general manager Terry Ryan tells Jim Crikket of the Knuckleballs blog.  “We’ll draft a lot of pitching just because of the attrition. We need to make sure we have numbers and competition,” Ryan said.  “Actually the depth and some of the talent in our organization is starting to lean toward pitching….But we won’t have enough, so we’ll take a bunch more.”  This doesn’t necessarily mean that Minnesota will draft a pitcher with the fifth overall pick, as Ryan says the team is just focused on drafting the best possible player.  I’d recommend reading the entire interview, as Ryan also touches on such topics as his health and the Twins’ performance this season.
  • The Phillies could be altering their draft strategy of taking good athletes with high ceilings by instead opting for more proven players who are closer to making the majors, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury writes as part of an interview with Phillies scouting director Marti Wolever.
  • Recent comments from Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos hint that his team could also be taking a somewhat more cautious approach to their draft process, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reports.  “I’d say a big part of refining our process is maybe we’re starting to examine the level of risk we’re willing to take….It doesn’t mean we’ll be risk-averse, but maybe not take the same level of risk,” Anthopoulos told Sportsnet Magazine.  “We’re just trying to balance it out a little bit more as we’re going through it. That’s not to say we’re not looking for talent, upside, all that kind of stuff. We’re trying to balance it.”

Central Notes: Yost, Twins, Jay, Taveras

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In the midst of a 26-28 season, Royals GM Dayton Moore expresses support for manager Ned Yost, Jeffrey Flanagan of FOX Sports Kansas City writes. “I have faith in Ned,” says Moore. “He is doing what he can.” Instead, Moore takes the blame for the team’s performance. “It’s my job to give the managers and the coaching staff the right players to succeed. I have to be able to give them the tools to win. So if we’re not succeeding, ultimately the responsibility comes back to me,” he says. The Royals fired hitting coach Pedro Grifol on Thursday, replacing him with Dale Sveum. Here are more notes from the Central divisions.

  • The Twins are interested in Cardinals outfielder Jon Jay, 1500ESPN.com’s Darren Wolfson tweets. The Cardinals have more outfielders than they need (so much so that their surplus may have delayed the promotion of top prospect Oscar Taveras), and could trade from their stockpile. Meanwhile, the Twins’ outfielders have struggled this season.
  • Taveras’ promotion is a big moment for the Cardinals organization, writes Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals ought to make sure they play Taveras regularly, since not doing so would merely waste service time. If Taveras hits well, the Cardinals could move Matt Adams into a “super-sub role” when he’s available to return from the disabled list.
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