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Quick Hits: Hardy, Betts, Mets, Hinshaw

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In his 65th game of the season, J.J. Hardy launched his first home run of 2014 off Yankees reliever Jose Ramirez. Hardy, who will turn 32 years old in August, has hit at least 22 home runs in each of the last three seasons. He’s in the final year of a three-year, $22.5MM contract with the Orioles. Despite the power outage, he hasn’t been a total loss at the plate with a .288/.317/.354 line entering today. Aside from home runs, Hardy is best known for superb defense at shortstop, so he should have suitors lined up regardless of his offensive value. Obviously, a return to his previous home run bashing ways will improve his leverage as a free agent.

  • Mookie Betts may be moving closer to a major league promotion, speculates Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Red Sox manager John Farrell mentioned Betts unprompted when asked about recent signee Andres Torres, saying “I know Mookie Betts is swinging the bat well.” Betts natural position is second base, but he’s been learning the outfield due to the presence of incumbent Dustin Pedroia. According to leaderboards available at FanGraphs, Red Sox outfielders rank third to last in baseball with a .233/.310/.339 line. A shot in the arm appears justified.
  • Rather than trade for an elite slugger like Giancarlo Stanton, the Mets may employ a strategy similar to the Rays and Athletics, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. To further reinforce Martino’s point, one Mets official asks “what big bat is out there to trade for?” With the Marlins in the playoff race, Carlos Gonzalez on the disabled list, and Matt Kemp underperforming his contract, there aren’t many places to look for franchise altering bats. Instead, it might be easier to find and develop hidden values like Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss, and Ben Zobrist. Mets fans who are waiting to turn Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler into a superstar are liable to be disappointed.
  • The Cubs are the only team jumping into the trade market with both feet according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. GMs are cautious about pulling the plug too quickly, which keeps negotiations from moving forward until the deadline approaches. League wide parity and the second Wild Card have conspired to allow most teams to dream of contention. There’s also the annual game of roster chicken. Says one AL executive, “Everyone overvalues their prospects and they wait because they are always convinced the prices are going to come down.”
  • Former big league lefty Alex Hinshaw is once again drawing the interest of major league teams, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith. The 31-year-old is now pitching for the Independent League Wichita Wingnuts, with 18 strikeouts in eight and two-thirds innings. He last spent time in the majors in 2012, when he threw 28 innings for the Padres and one-third of an inning for the Cubs. Walks plagued Hinshaw, as evidenced by his 6.04 ERA, 11.44 K/9, and 6.67 BB/9.

Draft Notes: Rodon, Kolek, Conforto, Megill

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After the Reds’ agreement with Alex Blandino yesterday, 25 of this year’s 34 first-round picks have signed or at least agreed to terms on their signing bonus. Here are some of the latest draft-related (non-signing) news items from around the league…

  • As noted by Baseball America earlier this week, the White Sox have $6.58MM that they can spend on top pick Carlos Rodon without losing future draft picks (Twitter link). Chicago’s situation with Rodon is somewhat similar to the one the Mariners faced with Alex Jackson, with whom they agreed to terms earlier this week. Both Rodon and Jackson are advised by Scott Boras, and both teams signed picks 2-10 prior to dealing with their first-rounder. Because picks beyond the 10th round don’t count against a team’s bonus pool (unless a team gives a bonus of more than $100K in rounds 11-40), that basically places a firm limit on what type of bonus they can offer. If anything, Jackson may have had more leverage as a high school player. MLB.com’s Jim Callis recently noted that he fully expects Chicago to sign Rodon, though he added that the Sox haven’t inked a notable Boras draftee since Alex Fernandez back in 1990 (Twitter links).
  • MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes that the Marlins considered Tyler Kolek the top player in this year’s draft, even over No. 1 overall pick Brady Aiken. Had Miami selected first overall, they’d still have taken Kolek, Frisaro reports. Had Houston taken Kolek, however, Aiken was No. 2 on their board.
  • While the Mets and top pick Michael Conforto are in agreement on a signing bonus in the range of $2.987MM, as reported earlier in the week, there does appear to be a bit of work left to do before the deal becomes official, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. It isn’t clear exactly what the holdup is at this time, he adds, stating that it could be an issue of language within the contract. Whatever the issue, his signing bonus doesn’t appear to be a factor anymore.
  • Cardinals third-rounder Trevor Megill has decided to return to college for his senior season rather than sign with St. Louis, reports Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish. Megill’s draft stock plummeted after he required Tommy John prior to his junior season at Loyola Marymount. MLB.com’s Jen Langosch noted recently that Megill would likely require an over-slot bonus or would return for his senior year.

Rosenthal On A’s, Angels, Rasmus, Indians

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Somehow, someway, Athletics GM Billy Beane is going to pull something off between now and the deadline, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Between the inexperience of Sonny Gray and Jesse Chavez, Scott Kazmir’s past health troubles, and other question marks, the A’s could use some rotation reinforcements.  Oakland isn’t deep enough in minor league talent to land the Cubs’ Jeff Samardzija or Rays’ David Price, but Rosenthal is certain that Beane will find something out there.  Here’s more from his always informative column..

  • The Angels don’t necessarily need rotation help, but they’d like to add a starter nonetheless.  They are currently without a lefty reliever, and another rotation piece would allow them to move left-hander Hector Santiago to the bullpen.  Rosenthal speculates that Padres righty Ian Kennedy and Mets righty Dillon Gee could be fits.
  • The qualifying offer reduces the desire of some teams to trade QO candidates before they hit the open market.  Blue Jays center fielder Colby Rasmus and Rockies left-hander Jorge De La Rosa are examples of potential free agents who are unlikely to be moved since their clubs would like the option of making an offer and an acquiring team would not be able to extend one.  If not for the QO possibility, Toronto might opt to move Rasmus for a pitcher and re-install a platoon of Anthony Gose and Kevin Pillar in center.
  • The Indians are in difficult spots with potential free agents shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and right-hander Justin Masterson.  Cabrera isn’t a strong QO candidate thanks to his so-so defense, so one option would be to trade him for another infielder to alternate with Mike Aviles.  The same goes for Masterson, though he probably doesn’t have much trade value with an ERA of 5.05 with 8.1 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9.

Mets Agree To Terms With Michael Conforto

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The Mets have agreed to sign first-round pick Michael Conforto to a $2.97MM deal, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com (on Twitter).  The Oregon State outfielder was rated as one of the best college bats in the draft by Callis.  Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported earlier this week that a deal was on the verge of being completed.

Michael Conforto

The reported value of the deal just about matches the slot for the No. 10 overall pick.  The outfielder out of Oregon State was ranked as the No. 8 prospect in this draft by ESPN’s Keith Law and Baseball America while Jonathan Mayo and Callis of MLB.com ranked him 17th.

Conforto batted a whopping .345/.504/.547 with seven homers, 16 doubles and a pair of triples in 59 games for Oregon State in 2014 — his junior season. Law praised Conforto’s power to his pull side, also noting that he works counts well and is able to hit the ball to the opposite field. Law expressed real concerns about Conforto’s defense, however, questioning his range and his throwing arm in left field. BA offered a bit of a different take, writing that he improved his previously fringy defense and is now adequate, and their scouting report projected him as a 20-25 homer hitter down the road. MLB.com shared some of the defensive concerns and worried that he might swing and miss too much, however that scouting report also projected him to hit 25-plus homers with regularity at his peak.

The Mets have reportedly signed third-rounder Milton Ramos for roughly $100K over slot, and they went $200K over slot on 13th-rounder Erik Manoah as well, but they didn’t have to go over the suggested value on their first-round pick. The team made up for its over-slot deals with Ramos and Manoah by saving $517K on its picks in the fourth through tenth rounds.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Stark On Rays, Zobrist, Utley, Cubs, Padres

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The trade deadline is rapidly approaching and while things figure to get exciting over the next month and change, not everyone is drooling over what might be available.  “To be honest, I don’t see much out there,” an official of one contender told Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. “Who’s even selling? And what are they selling? I know there will be guys to trade for. But where’s the quality?”  The whole column is worth a read, but here are some of the highlights from Stark’s latest..

  • The Rays front office believed that they had the talent to win it all this year and that optimism could play into how they approach the deadline.  The Rays aren’t selling and Stark writes that if they believe what they have can power them to a championship next season, they might stand pat and keep the band together.  Teams that have spoken with Tampa Bay see a fire sale as unlikely.
  • The Rays might listen on Ben Zobrist, but one exec who has spoken with the club gets the sense that it would be “really, really difficult” for them to part with him.  The exception to all of this, of course, is David Price.
  • The Phillies are expected to be open for business between now and the deadline, but they might not like the offers that come in.  “Look at their trade chips,” said an NL executive. “Even if they blow it up, dangle [Cole] Hamels and dangle all these other guys, each one of those guys has some reason it will be hard for them to get back what they want.“
  • Meanwhile, one exec flatly said a Chase Utley trade is “not happening.”  The sticker price might not be met on Phillies like Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, and Jimmy Rollins, but teams see Domonic Brown as someone whom the Phillies would like to swap for a different young change-of-scenery candidate.
  • Teams that have spoken with the Cubs expect them to move pitcher Jason Hammel in the next two weeks.  That could just be the warm up for Jeff Samardzija, but they continue to tell teams that they’d like to hammer out a new contract with him.  This week we learned that the Cubs ace rejected a five-year, $85MM+ offer.
  • While some teams are beating around the bush, the Padres are aggressively letting teams know that they want to sell.  All of their outfielders, except Cameron Maybin, are available, and that includes Seth Smith, Chris Denorfia, and Will Venable.
  • Several teams report the Dodgers are telling them they’ll listen right now on every one of their outfielders except Yasiel Puig.
  • The Yankees have been asking almost exclusively about starting pitching in their preliminary conversations.
  • Teams that have talked with the Tigers say they’re focused on bullpen upgrades, not shortstop.
  • The Angels are in the bullpen market, but they’re looking hard at left-handed-relief options, not closers.
  • Things are murky around the D’Backs since no one really knows who is in charge their or what their goals are.
  • Royals GM Dayton Moore has indicated that the Royals can add payroll, but clubs believe that he won’t get to go-ahead to spend until mid-July.  When and if KC starts buying, they are expected to target right fielders and bullpen arms since that is what they’ve been asking about in conversations.

Deadline Notes: Utley, Rollins, Mayberry, Royals, Yankees, Mets

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There’s been quite a bit of chatter regarding Jeff Samardzija and the rest of the Cubs’ pitchers over the past few days, due largely to the fact that everyone is aware the Cubs will be sellers at this summer’s non-waiver trade deadline. For other clubs, the trade picture isn’t so clear. Here are some notes on players that are potential trade targets and on which clubs should buy and which should sell…

  • Phillies president David Montgomery tells Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the club can’t be stubborn and close itself off from trading certain players if it’s the best thing for the team — and that includes longtime cornerstones Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins. Referring to Utley, Montgomery noted that he’d like his second baseman to remain with the club beyond his playing days. Of course, both players have 10-and-5 rights and can veto any trade.
  • For his part, Rollins softened his stance on waiving his no-trade rights after surpassing Mike Schmidt for the franchise hits lead this weekend, Gelb notes. Said Rollins: “It really depends if everything is blown up. Then, you take that into consideration. Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about that right now. But if that time does come, and it’s time to go … people move on.”
  • Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that the Red Sox and Yankees have some interest in John Mayberry Jr. as outfield depth. Boston has scouted several recent Phillies games, and one “plugged-in Major League source” tells Salisbury that the Yankees are a team to watch in regards to Mayberry as well.
  • In an ESPN Insider piece, Dan Szymborski opines that the Royals need to make a bold acquisition in an attempt to take the AL Central. Szymborski’s ZiPS projection system has the Royals as a 50-50 chance to make the playoffs and a 29 percent chance to win the division right now. With five regular position players ranking at or below replacement level (per Baseball-Reference), the team needs to make a splash, as the Tigers are far more vulnerable than most expected. He suggests that third base and right field are the two most viable spots, listing Aaron Hill, Ben Zobrist and Chase Headley as possible targets.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman expects to make a trade or multiple trades this July, writes Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com. “I feel that we need to get better from within, and I think I can speed up the process if I run into something outside at the same time,” said Cashman. “We usually make moves every year, so I expect to make moves again.” Bloom runs down a list of trade targets and notes that the stock of Dellin Betances has skyrocketed this season, though he wonders if Cashman would be willing to include a potential future closer for a short-term fix. Cashman said he didn’t want to wait to make a move but added that prices are often highest early on in trade season.
  • Though Joel Sherman of the New York Post said not long ago that the Mets should act boldly as buyers, the team’s recent woes have him convinced that the opposite may now be true. After a 4-11 skid, he writes that the Mets should deal two of Jon Niese, Bartolo Colon and Dillon Gee this summer and also make Daniel Murphy available in trades. Doing so will bring back valuable offensive prospects and position the Mets well for a high draft pick in 2015. He notes that Sandy Alderson’s regime has done well in trades, bringing in Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, Travis d’Arnaud, Vic Black and Dilson Herrera by trading veteran pieces.

Minor Moves: Ryan Tatusko, Zach Lutz, Nick Evans

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Here are the latest transactions from the minors, with the newest moves at the top of the post…

  • The Nationals have sold the rights to righty Ryan Tatusko to the Hanwha Eagles of Korea, reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). Tatusko came to the Nats along with Tanner Roark in the 2010 deal that sent Cristian Guzman to the Rangers. The 29-year-old owns a 2.85 ERA in 79 Triple-A innings with 5.8 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9.
  • The Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball have signed former Mets third baseman Zach Lutz to a $400K contract (hat tip to NPB Tracker’s Patrick Newman).  It was reported earlier in the week that the Mets had agreed to release Lutz so he could play in Japan.  A fifth-round pick of the Mets in the 2007 draft, Lutz hit .289/.384/.481 with 75 homers in 2155 minor league PA and also appeared in 22 games with the Mets in 2012-13.
  • The Diamondbacks outrighted utilityman Nick Evans off their 40-man roster and to Triple-A Reno, the club’s official transactions page reports.  Evans was designated for assignment by Arizona on Thursday.  Evans, 28, returned to the Majors for the first time since 2011 when he appeared in eight games with the D’Backs this season; he went 1-for-11 over 11 PA, homering for his only hit.  Evans joined the Arizona organization before the 2013 season and has an impressive 1.034 OPS in 191 Triple-A plate appearances this year.

NL Notes: Iglesias, Mills, Martin, Young, Billingsley

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Here’s the latest out of the National League …

  • The Reds are interested in Cuban free agent pitcher Raisel Iglesias, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America (via Twitter). A team official told Badler that a deal was not in place at this time, however. Badler recently reported that the righty was granted an extended signing window by MLB, and will be free to sign through July 1 without being subject to international spending limitations.
  • Brewers righty Brad Mills has an opt-out provision in his minor league deal that was triggered on Sunday, but can only be exercised if he has an offer from a team that would put him on its 25-man roster, reports Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Mills, 29, has impressed at Triple-A, with a 1.56 ERA and 9.2 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 through 75 innings (including 12 starts). As Rosiak notes, however, Milwaukee seems relatively uninterested in using him at the big league level at present.
  • If the Pirates decide to open extension talks with catcher Russell Martin, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review estimates that it could take a three-year, $39MM offer to make a deal. Martin, who signed a two-year, $17MM pact to come to Pittsburgh, has posted a strong .275/.409/.400 line this year, which is the best pace he’s carried since his excellent 2006-08 seasons with the Dodgers. In the intervening five years, Martin has averaged a .234/.332/.370 triple-slash, though he has consistently earned stellar defensive ratings. After Martin, pickings are fairly slim on next year’s free agent market for backstops, with players like Kurt Suzuki, A.J. Pierzynski, Geovany Soto, and Nick Hundley leading the way.
  • The Mets have no intention of releasing struggling outfielder Chris Young, reports Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. Young has posted a meager .196/.283/.313 line in 185 plate appearances since joining the club on a one-year, $7.25MM pact. While the team would like to be able to deal him, presumably eating some salary to make that happen, a team official tells Rubin that New York does not expect to find much of a market for his services.
  • As expected, Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley will undergo season-ending surgery on his right elbow, reports Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com. It seems all but certain that the club will opt to pay Billingsley a $3MM buyout rather than picking up his $14MM option for 2015. The veteran hurler tells Saxon that the rehab is expected to be “about six months,” and that surgery offered him the “best chance to pitch next year.”

Mets Nearing Deal With Michael Conforto

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The Mets are expected to have a deal soon with first-round pick Michael Conforto, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com spoke to a team official who said a deal isn’t absolutely done yet, but there won’t be any snags either (Twitter link).

Conforto, an outfielder out of Oregon State, was considered by many to be the best college bat in this year’s draft. ESPN’s Keith Law and Baseball America both ranked the 6’2″, 217-pound lefty swinger as the No. 8 prospect in this year’s draft class, while Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked him 17th.

Conforto batted a whopping .345/.504/.547 with seven homers, 16 doubles and a pair of triples in 59 games for Oregon State in 2014 — his junior season. Law praised Conforto’s power to his pull side, also noting that he works counts well and is able to hit the ball to the opposite field. Law expressed real concerns about Conforto’s defense, however, questioning his range and his throwing arm in left field. BA offered a bit of a different take, writing that he improved his previously fringy defense and is now adequate, and their scouting report projected him as a 20-25 homer hitter down the road. MLB.com shared some of the defensive concerns and worried that he might swing and miss too much, however that scouting report also projected him to hit 25-plus homers with regularity at his peak.

The slot value for the No. 10 overall pick, where New York selected Conforto, is $2,970,800, according to Baseball America. The Mets have reportedly signed third-rounder Milton Ramos for about $100K over slot, and they went $200K over slot on 13th-rounder Erik Manoah as well. However, they’re also said to have saved roughly $517K on rounds 4-10 in the draft, so they shouldn’t be hindered in negotiations with Conforto.

Quick Hits: Hudson, Niese, Orioles, Lester

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Giants starter Tim Hudson is baseball’s top unsung player, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan writes. One reason Hudson’s greatness often goes unnoticed is that his key weapon is the grounder, not the strikeout. With a ground ball rate of 57.4% this season, though, he’s been spectacular, with a 1.81 ERA, 6.0 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 89 1/3 innings — all despite being an undersized 38-year-old who missed much of last season with a serious ankle injury. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (on Twitter) that the club has the resources to be buyers at this year’s trade deadline.  Alderson went on to say that pitcher Jon Niese won’t be trade bait.
  • Orioles Executive VP Dan Duquette told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (via Twitter) that he wants bullpen help as well as better offensive production at second and third base.
  • Red Sox starter Jon Lester tells WEEI’s Rob Bradford that he still wants to stay in Boston. “It’s all I’ve really known,” Lester says. “You don’t see many guys that get drafted by a team and end up staying there their whole career. It’s just something that I’ve always … wanted to do.” Lester cites his relationships with members of the Red Sox’s front office, and points out that his wife and kids would have to start their social lives anew if they were to move to a new city. Basic considerations like these rarely enter conversations about why a player might choose to sign with, or stay with, a team, but they’re clearly important. Lester, who is eligible for free agency after the season, says negotiations with the Red Sox will hinge on “what we think is a discount and still fair.”

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

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