Rockies To Sign Brendan Rodgers
The Rockies and No. 3 overall pick Brendan Rodgers have agreed to terms, reports Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (via Twitter). Rodgers will receive a $5.5MM signing bonus, which comes in about $723K shy of the No. 3 slot’s value. Rodgers will soon debut with the club’s Rookie-ball affiliate, Mayo adds.
Despite being selected third overall, Rodgers actually ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the draft in the eyes of Baseball America, Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com, and ESPN’s Keith Law. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs rated Rodgers as the No. 2 prospect in the draft, behind top overall pick Dansby Swanson and ahead of No. 2 overall pick Alex Bregman.
A high school shortstop known for his power, Rodgers was one of a handful of players in the mix to go first overall. BA describes Rodgers’ bat speed as “elite” and gives him a chance to hit 25 or more homers in the Majors one day, adding that his arm strength and hands are good enough to remain at short as long as his range does not deteriorate as he matures physically. Callis and Mayo praise his all-fields approach at the plate and liken his skill set to that of Addison Russell. Law calls Rodgers a “true shortstop” that can hit for at least average power down the line, if not more. McDaniel feels that Rodgers has been the best pure bat in the class for a full year, though he notes that Swanson just snuck ahead of him in his rankings due to a better spring.
Marco Scutaro Signs Contract To Retire As Member Of Giants
The Giants have re-signed infielder Marco Scutaro to a Major League contract and immediately placed him on the 60-day DL, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). The move is a symbolic gesture that will allow Scutaro to retire as a member of the Giants organization. The 39-year-old will continue to rehab, Schulman says, but only to improve the quality of life he can have in his post-playing days.
It’s a classy move from the organization that released Scutaro this past January in order to free up a spot on the team’s 40-man roster. Scutaro’s final seasons with the Giants were slowed by a number of back injuries that limited him to 127 games in 2013 and just five games in 2014. As the Chronicle’s John Shea tweets, the Giants made this move as a gesture because they didn’t want a playoff hero’s career to end with a release.
“Playoff hero” is certainly an apt description for Scutaro, but it may actually undersell his importance to the 2012 Giants. Acquired from the division-rival Rockies in exchange for Charlie Culberson, Scutaro took San Francisco by storm in the second half of the 2012 season. He batted a Herculean .362/.385/.473 in 61 contests for the Giants down the stretch before hitting .500 (14-for-28) and taking home NLCS MVP honors. The Giants, of course, would go on to win the World Series in decisive fashion, sweeping the Tigers to take home their second championship in three years.
Scutaro’s brilliant performance led the team to re-sign him to a three-year, $20MM contract that offseason. Though the aforementioned injuries did limit his playing time in 2013, Scutaro still batted a very solid .297/.357/.369 in the 127 games he was healthy, combining that above-average production with sound defense and plus baserunning to produce more than two wins above replacement.
Originally signed by the Indians in 1994, Scutaro is a personification of the “late bloomer” in sports. He debuted with the Mets in 2002 at the age of 26 but didn’t total more than 91 plate appearances in either of his two years with New York. The A’s gave Scutaro his first semi-regular action in 2004, but he never even reached 500 plate appearances in a single season until 2008 with the Blue Jays — his age-32 season. Until that point, Scutaro had looked the part of a solid utility player rather than a starter.
Sound work with the Blue Jays in 2008-09 led the Red Sox to sign him to a two-year, $12.5MM contract with a club option for a third season. Scutaro was again very good in two seasons with Boston (.284/.343/.401), who traded him to the Rockies prior to 2012 in exchange for right-hander Clayton Mortensen.
All told, Scutaro will finish his career with a .277/.341/.388 batting line, 77 homers, 55 steals, 22.2 rWAR and 18.6 fWAR. He earned nearly $49MM, according to Baseball-Reference.com — an incredible sum for someone who had essentially been a light-hitting utility infielder through his age-31 season in the mid-2000s. We at MLBTR wish Marco the best of luck as well as health and happiness in his post-playing career.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Braves Agree To Terms With Second-Rounder Lucas Herbert
The Braves have agreed to an at-slot, $1,125,200 bonus with second-round selection Lucas Herbert, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Callis calls the would-be UCLA commit the best defensive catcher in the draft.
Herbert, who was chosen 54th overall, was the fourth player taken by the pick-flush Braves. He becomes Atlanta’s highest draft choice reportedly to sign.
Among draft observers, ESPN.com’s Keith Law rated Herbert highest on his board, placing him 45th among eligible prospects. Law notes that the backstop was discovered by scouts who were looking at teammate Kolby Allard, who the Braves took with their first-round choice. Law cites Herbert’s plus defensive potential as his primary calling card, noting that the youngster holds much less promise on offense, where he features “below-average hit and power ceilings.”
Baseball America placed Herbert at 52nd on its pre-draft ranking, with MLB.com putting him in the 69th slot and noting that he does possess “extremely strong hands and wrists” and shows reasonable promise as a hitter. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs, meanwhile, took a somewhat dimmer view of Herbert’s future, rating him just inside the top 100.
Latest On Investigation Into Astros Computer Breach
11:09pm: Apart from whatever criminal charges could arise, the league’s punishment of the Cardinals (if any) will depend upon “how high knowledge of [the] breach reached,” according to Passan (links to Twitter).
If the investigation reveals only a single “rogue employee,” there may not be any significant repercussions for the organization, says Passan. But severe penalties could result if top officials are shown to have acted improperly. The timeline of league action will be slowed by the fact that the FBI investigation remains private, Passan adds.
10:50pm: The FBI investigation into the breach of the Astros’ computer systems is in its final stages, according to the Houston Chronicle’s David Barron and Evan Drellich. A source tells the Chronicle that “the suspects [have] been narrowed to a group of four to five individuals within the Cardinals organization.”
Per the report, in addition to the 2013 breach discussed in the New York Times piece that broke the story of the investigation, impermissible access to the system also occurred in March of last year. That would seem to coincide with a report from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports indicating that the computer which gained entry to the Astros’ systems had been traced to a house in Jupiter, Florida — the Spring Training home of the Cardinals — which was occupied by multiple St. Louis employees. (Notably, also, the information released publicly appears to line up with the timing reported by the Chronicle.)
The Cardinals have conducted internal interviews with their personnel regarding the matter, Drellich adds on Twitter, and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch notes that many members of the front office have hired attorneys. St. Louis released a statement earlier today indicating that the club “has fully cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so.” Per Goold’s report, that included turning over computers to the FBI back in Feburary.
As things stand, it remains unreported precisely which Cardinals personnel are suspected of involvement with the actual computer breach — let alone what involvement organizational higher-ups may have had in the infraction, the public disclosure of information, and/or events subsequent. Needless to say, regardless of who is ultimately deemed to have committed the breaches, those questions will remain a source of intense interest going forward.
Cardinals Under FBI Investigation For Hacking Astros
9:57pm: The breach in the Astros’ computer system was traced to a home in Jupiter, Florida, where the Cardinals hold Spring Training, a source tells Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Per the report, “a number of Cardinals employees used the house.” That could make it more difficult to determine precisely who accessed the database, though of course investigators surely possess means of acquiring that information.
Passan also notes that, per his source, “the breach involved more than taking old passwords” from Luhnow “and inputting them into a website.” Indeed, there were initially concerns in the league office that more information might ultimately be made public than has been revealed to date.
3:44pm: Cardinals front office officials are being investigated by the FBI in connection to the 2013 hacking of the Astros’ Ground Control database, reports Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times. According to Schmidt, federal investigators have uncovered evidence which indicates that Cardinals officials were the ones to break into the Astros’ network and databases, leading to the compromise of trade discussions, proprietary statistics and scouting reports.
At this point, it’s unclear which officials are being investigated, but Schmidt reports that no one with the team has been put on leave, suspended or fired at this time. Subpoenas have been served to both the Cardinals and Major League Baseball. In a statement to Schmidt, a spokesperson for commissioner Rob Manfred said that MLB “has been aware of and has fully cooperated with the federal investigation into the illegal breach of the Astros’ baseball operations database.”
Schmidt continues to say that the “hacking” was rather low-grade, as it’s believed that Cardinals officials gained entry by using a master list of passwords from Jeff Luhnow and those who followed him from the St. Louis front office to the Houston front office. The current belief among investigators is that Cardinals officials were concerned that Luhnow took proprietary information from St. Louis’ Redbird system — a network similar to Ground Control — and applied the information to his new system in Houston.
Schmidt adds that some law enforcement officials believe the breach to be the result of “vengeful” Cardinals employees “hoping to wreak havoc” on Luhnow’s work in Houston. The Astros believed the hacking to be random and notified the FBI, who learned that the Ground Control network had been accessed from a home in which a Cardinals official had lived.
The breach ultimately led to a good deal of private Astros information becoming public knowledge, including trade discussions that brought a good deal of scrutiny on the Houston organization. At the time, the Astros issued the following statement:
“Last month, we were made aware that proprietary information held on Astros’ servers and in Astros’ applications had been illegally obtained. Upon learning of the security breach, we immediately notified MLB security who, in turn, notified the FBI. Since that time, we have been working closely with MLB security and the FBI to the determine the party, or parties, responsible. This information was illegally obtained and published, and we intend to prosecute those involved to the fullest extent.”
It remains to be seen what kind of punishments will be issued if the Cardinals are indeed proved to be behind the incident. However, this is certainly the type of offense that would cost executives their jobs, and there could very well be further legal repercussions for those involved, as well as further punishments issued to the organization by the league.
Brewers Claim Matt Dominguez, Designate Wei-Chung Wang
The Brewers announced that they have claimed third baseman Matt Dominguez off waivers from the Astros (Twitter links). To clear room on the 40-man roster, they’ve designated left-hander Wei-Chung Wang for assignment. Dominguez has been optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs by the Brewers.
The Astros designated Dominguez for assignment last week in order to clear space on the 40-man roster for the promotion of top prospect Carlos Correa. In doing so, Houston effectively pulled the plug on one player for whom they very recently had high hopes in order to give a chance to a new young player. Dominguez was never as highly regarded a prospect as Correa, of course, but he frequented Top 100 prospect lists from 2009-12 as a member of both the Astros and Marlins organizations.
It’s easy to forget that Dominguez, who has spent parts of the past four seasons in the Majors, is still just 25 years of age. The Marlins first brought him to the Majors at just 21 years old and eventually traded him to Houston in the deal that sent Carlos Lee to Miami. Dominguez made a late-season appearance in Houston in 2012 and served as the team’s everyday third baseman in 2013-14.
That first season with an everyday gig proved to be his best to date, as he batted .241/.286/.403 with 21 homers. Despite the questionable OBP skills, Dominguez offered power and solid defense at third base, per DRS, producing 2.2 rWAR in his age-23 campaign. That’s a solid year, especially when considering his inexperience, but he took a step back in 2014, hitting just .215/.256/.330. That was concerning enough for Houston to bring in Luis Valbuena and Jed Lowrie in the winter, leaving Dominguez at Triple-A, where he continued to struggle (.251/.289/.371).
For the Brewers, though, they have little in the way of MLB-ready replacement options following the 2015 season when Aramis Ramirez retires. While Dominguez is far from a sure thing to provide them with above-average production at the hot corner — hence the DFA — he gives Milwaukee an experienced option with a good deal of team control remaining. Dominguez is all but a lock to be controllable through the 2019 season, as he’d need 110 days of MLB service to be eligible for free agency following the 2018 season, and there are only 111 days of the season remaining after tonight’s games.
With Ramirez’s name popping up in trade rumors as of late, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Dominguez eventually received an audition at the Major League level in the current season. That could theoretically push him into Super Two status and make him arbitration eligible this offseason, but his lack of recent offensive production would probably result in a relatively modest salary — especially when juxtaposed with Ramirez’s current $14MM price tag.
The 23-year-old Wang was a Rule 5 pick by the Brewers in 2013, and the team carried him on the roster through the entire 2014 season to avoid losing him, so the decision to designate him and again risk losing him was likely a tough pill to swallow. The Taiwanese southpaw pitched just 17 1/3 innings last year and yielded 21 runs, but given the fact that he was selected from the Pirates’ Rookie-level affiliate, those struggles shouldn’t be a stunning outcome. This season at Class-A Advanced, Wang has posted a 5.93 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 60 2/3 innings.
Pat Murphy To Manage Padres For Rest Of Season
The Padres announced this afternoon that they have named Pat Murphy their interim manager for the remainder of the 2015 season. Murphy had been serving as the team’s manager at Triple-A El Paso.
“Pat Murphy’s 30 years of experience coaching and managing, and his success at every level, stood out to me as I came to this decision,” said Padres GM A.J. Preller in the press release announcing the move. “His leadership ability, his respect in the clubhouse and his familiarity with our system will make this transition a smooth one for our players and coaching staff.”
The 56-year-old Murphy was in his third season as El Paso’s manager and spent the two years prior to that managing for San Diego’s A-Ball affiliate. He also has an extensive college coaching career, most notably with Arizona State. Murphy was long hailed as one of the best coaches in the college game, but his time at ASU wasn’t without controversy. Murphy was reportedly forced to resign in 2009 after allegations of academic fraud and recruiting violations marred his tenure as the team’s head coach.
Recently, the Brewers had interest in interviewing Murphy for a coaching position on the Major League staff, but the Padres did not grant Milwaukee permission to do so. Speculation emerged shortly thereafter that Murphy “had been made promises” by the organization. While that may or may not be the case, it does certainly seem likely that the Padres were at least considering Murphy as a possible coach, if not manager, in the event that Bud Black was let go. The Padres dismissed Black yesterday after parts of nine seasons on the job.
Yankees Outright Esmil Rogers
MONDAY: Rogers has accepted his assignment, Feinsand tweets.
FRIDAY: The Yankees have outrighted righty Esmil Rogers, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets. Rogers has not yet decided whether to accept the assignment, Marly Rivera of ESPN Deportes tweets.
Rogers pitched today and allowed four runs, only one of them earned, in two innings. The seeds of his outright had likely already been planted, however. For the season, Rogers has a 6.27 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9, also allowing five home runs in 31 innings out of the Yankees’ bullpen. In parts of seven seasons (in which he’s also pitched for the Rockies, Indians and Blue Jays), Rogers now has a 5.60 career ERA, and he’s now 29. His good fastball and ability to start (he made 20 starts with Toronto in 2013) will likely continue to earn him chances, however.
Padres To Sign Second Rounder Austin Smith
The Padres have agreed to a slightly above-slot deal with second-round pick Austin Smith, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Smith will receive a $1.2MM bonus after being taken 51st overall, which came with a $1,178,400 allocation.
The high school righty was regarded as one of the forty to fifty best prospects available by draft observers. MLB.com likes Smith’s “easy” velocity, while noting that he has some work to do in building out his secondary offerings. ESPN.com’s Keith Law calls Smith “a rawer version of Nationals prospect Joe Ross,” noting that he comes with the upside of a mid-rotation starter.
Smith was San Diego’s first pick . The club already went over-slot to add its next choice, righty Jacob Nix, but has saved plenty of money on several other signings and still has flexibility to use in locking up other players.
Dodgers Agree To Terms With Mitchell Hansen
The Dodgers have agreed to terms with second-rounder Mitchell Hansen, Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs reports on Twitter. Hansen will receive a $1MM bonus, per Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter).
Hansen, who had been committed to Stanford, is a high school outfielder out of Texas. He rated as high as 37th on draft boards coming in, with ESPN.com’s Keith Law giving him that tag based on “above-average tools across the board,” including good athleticism, solid raw power, and a strong defensive profile.
The MLB.com team also saw Hansen as a top-forty draft prospect, while Baseball America had him just a peg lower. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs took the dimmest view of Hansen’s future, putting him in the 61st slot.
The reported signing bonus will require the Dodgers to cover $78,900 in overages as against the slot value of the 67th selection. Hansen becomes the highest Dodgers pick to sign thus far, with righties Walker Buehler and Kyle Funkhouser chosen ahead of him and still unsigned.