Cubs Sign Sixth-Rounder Dylan Cease
The Cubs have signed sixth-round draft pick Dylan Cease to a contract with a $1.5MM bonus, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports (via Twitter), which far exceeds the $269.5K slot price attached to the 169th overall pick.
Cease, a high school right-hander, had committed to attend Vanderbilt in the fall, yet the large bonus is still somewhat surprising given that he will undergo Tommy John surgery later this month. The Cubs also went well above slot in handing out seven-figure bonuses to fourth-rounder Carson Sands and fifth-rounder Justin Steele, as the team had extra draft pool money available after going almost a combined $1.75MM under slot to sign first round pick Kyle Schwarber and second-rounder Jake Stinnett.
In pre-draft prospect rankings, Cease was rated 48th amongst all draftees by ESPN’s Keith Law, 76th by MLB.com and 77th by Baseball America. The BA scouting report says Cease needs to improve on repeating his breaking pitches and he has something of a rushed delivery, but the young righty’s fastball has touched 98mph and his curveball has potential to be an above-average pitch if he can be consistent with it.
Mariners Designate Cole Gillespie For Assignment
The Mariners have designated outfielder Cole Gillespie for assignment, the team announced. Corey Hart has been activated from the DL in a corresponding move.
Gillespie hit .254/.312/.324 with one homer in 78 PA for Seattle this season, with 56 of those plate appearances coming against left-handed pitching. Gillespie signed a minor league deal with the M’s during the offseason.
According to MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, Gillespie is now the eighth player currently in ‘DFA limbo,’ joining Jeff Francis (A’s), Dean Anna (Yankees), Jerome Williams (Astros), Nolan Reimold (Orioles), Joe Saunders (Rangers) Pedro Ciriaco and Justin Maxwell (Royals)
Mets Could Shop Bartolo Colon
The Mets will listen to offers for Bartolo Colon and could even start openly shopping the veteran right-hander, team sources tell Mike Puma of the New York Post. There is no indication a deal would happen soon, however, as the team could wait until after the July 31st deadline since GM Sandy Alderson “has no pressure” to trade Colon. (Puma points out that Alderson waited until late August 2013 to make the Marlon Byrd trade with the Pirates).
Colon turned 41 years old in May and his late-career renaissance is still going strong. The veteran has posted a 3.88 ERA and a 5.27 K/BB over 106 2/3 IP as a Met, with 79 strikeouts and a league-low 1.3 walks per nine innings. Those numbers do carry some heavy ballpark splits, as Colon has a 2.11 ERA in six Citi Field starts and a 5.06 ERA in 10 road starts.
Despite Colon’s age, the two-year, $20MM contract he signed with New York last winter is considered to be “relatively friendly,” an AL executive tells Puma. Colon is owed roughly $4.4MM for the remainder of this season and is owed $11MM for 2015.
Moving Colon would line the Mets up for a full-scale pitching youth movement in 2015. Jon Niese and Dillon Gee would be the most experienced members of a projected rotation that would also include a returning Matt Harvey and the likes of Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom, while prospects Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard could also be candidates to win jobs. In this situation you could also expect the Mets to sign at least one veteran arm for depth purposes during the offseason, a la their addition of Daisuke Matsuzaka last winter.
Also from Puma’s piece, he notes that the Mets are “reluctant” to trade Niese, which fits with Alderson’s recent statements about Niese’s availability (or lack thereof). Niese, for his part, tells Puma that he wants to remain with the Mets.
Mariners, Giants Interested In Dayan Viciedo
The Mariners and Giants are among the teams who have talked to the White Sox about acquiring outfielder Dayan Viciedo, ESPN Boston’s Gordon Edes reports. The Mariners have considered sending righty Brandon Maurer and another player to Chicago in exchange for Viciedo, while the extent of the Giants’ interest in the Cuban slugger isn’t known.
Viciedo has struggled to a .242/.294/.404 slash line over 326 PA this season, hitting nine homers and producing only an 89 wRC+. He has roughly $1.4MM remaining on his contract for this season, and he is controlled through 2017 as a Super Two player. Viciedo is still just 25 years old and posted some big power numbers in the minors, so a change of scenery could help, though moving from hitter-friendly US Cellular Field to pitcher-friendly parks in Seattle and San Francisco doesn’t seem ideal for a batter looking to realize his potential.
This isn’t the first time Seattle has been linked to Viciedo, as the M’s and Sox explored a swap during Spring Training. The Mariners are still looking for some outfield power, as while Michael Saunders (RF) and James Jones (CF) have mostly locked down everyday roles, former top prospect Dustin Ackley has contributed only a .640 OPS while getting the bulk of playing time in left field. Since all three of these players are left-handed batters, Viciedo would add some balance from the right side.
Maurer, who just turned 24 yesterday, has a 6.51 ERA in 37 1/3 IP (seven starts and three relief outings) for Seattle this season. A 23rd-round draft pick in 2008, Maurer has recorded a 3.79 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and 2.7 K/BB rate over 389 minor league innings.
Brandon Belt returns from the DL today, leaving the Giants with an ideal regular lineup of Belt at first base, Michael Morse in left and Hunter Pence in right. If Viciedo were to go to San Francisco, then, it would be as a bench bat and DH option for interleague games in AL stadiums. Viciedo has graded out as a below-average outfielder over his career, so it’s hard to see him getting much playing time in the spacious AT&T Park outfield.
Rockies To Sign Chris Capuano
The Rockies and left-hander Chris Capuano have agreed on a minor league contract, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter). The deal will cost the Rockies only the minimum, as the Red Sox still owe Capuano the approximately $1.18MM remaining on his previous contract after he was released earlier this week. Capuano is represented by Moye Sports Associates.
Capuano will be stretched out as a starting pitcher at Triple-A, Heyman notes, after pitching exclusively out of the bullpen in Boston. The veteran southpaw posted a 4.55 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 1.93 K/BB rate in 31 2/3 IP this season, and that ERA was largely inflated by a five-run outing on June 23 in what ended up as his final appearance with the Red Sox.
The signing marks both a return to starting and a return to the NL for Capuano, as he spent the first nine years of his career in the senior circuit before signing with Boston last winter. Given the Rockies’ need for starting pitching, it’s basically a no-lose signing on their part to see if Capuano can adapt to the thin Colorado air and eventually provide some innings to the Major League rotation.
Athletics Agree To 10-Year Lease With Coliseum Authority
8:40pm: The A’s and the Coliseum Authority have now officially agreed to a 10-year lease, writes MLB.com’s Jane Lee. The new lease calls for the city to provide $10MM worth of upgrades, which will be completed this offseason. Additionally, the A’s will be able to leave the Coliseum at any time, so long as they provide two years of notice and make their usual lease payments during that two-year period. The A’s do not have to continue making those payments if they relocate to a new stadium in Oakland, however.
Athletics owner Lew Wolff offered the following statement:
“After much diligence and cooperation from both parties, we are delighted to make this announcement today. We believe this agreement works well for city and county taxpayers, the team, A’s fans and all involved. It provides stability for the A’s, while also improving fan and player experience with significant upgrades and improvements at the facility.”
1:05pm: A power play from MLB commissioner Bud Selig has reignited lease talks between the A’s and the city of Oakland, as Carolyn Jones of the San Francisco Chronicle details. Athletics co-owner Lew Wolff informed city officials late last night that he received permission from Selig to immediately move the team to a “temporary or permanent location” if a new lease agreement was not approved.
That email from Wolff – which is reprinted in full in Jones’ article – prompted city and county officials to come back to the table this morning to hammer out a deal. Oakland city councilman Noel Gallo, who was initially opposed to the proposed ten-year lease proposal, said city, county and baseball leaders were on the phone hammering out a deal overnight.
“I think this agreement will be fair,” he said. “It might not be perfect, but I think it’ll be good for Oakland and the region in the long run.”
The Athletics have fought hard for a new stadium for years now and there has been talk of possible moves to San Jose and Fresno at different times. The ten-year lease agreement, which Jones outlined in an earlier article, called for the the rent to decline over the course of the contract from $1.75MM at the outset to $1.25MM at the end. While it seemed to be a done deal, some Oakland officials opposed the agreement and it was not completed as expected. Now, it seems that things are back on track to keep the A’s in Oakland.
Athletics Designate Jeff Francis For Assignment
The A’s announced (on Twitter) that they have designated left-hander Jeff Francis for assignment and activated fellow lefty Eric O’Flaherty from the disabled list.
The 33-year-old Francis appeared in nine games for the A’s (all relief appearances) and yielded nine runs in 13 1/3 total innings with a 10-to-3 K/BB ratio. The longtime Rockies hurler began the year with the Reds but was claimed off waivers by Oakland back in May. Once a mainstay in Colorado’s rotation, Francis has seen his stock drop since his peak years in 2006-07. The former No. 9 overall pick in the draft has a career 4.95 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 44.6 percent ground-ball rate in 1267 1/3 innings.
O’Flaherty will be making his first appearance on Oakland’s active roster after signing a two-year, $7MM contract with the A’s this offseason. The former Brave underwent Tommy John surgery last year and has been on the shelf all season as he recovers. When healthy, O’Flaherty was one of the National League’s best setup men, posting a 1.99 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 249 1/3 innings from 2009-13. He’s lethal against opposing lefties and has typically been solid against right-handed hitters as well, so he will make a nice addition to Oakland’s relief corps.
Mets Haven’t Had Recent Talks On Daniel Murphy
Daniel Murphy‘s name has been featured frequently pages of MLBTradeRumors in recent weeks, but it sounds like he probably won’t be changing uniforms in the next few days. Mets assistant GM John Ricco told Tim Rohan of the New York Times that the club hasn’t had any recent talks on the second baseman.
“We haven’t specifically talked about Dan recently,” Ricco said. “He is one of the more valuable guys we have. He leads the league in hits. He’s settled in as one of the best second basemen in the game, certainly offensively, and is a leader on our team.”
When asked if the Mets were worried about the perception if they traded Murphy, Ricco said, “It depends what the return is,” which Rohan takes to mean that a deal would be better received if they got more immediate help rather than prospects who are a few years away. The 29-year-old is enjoying his best season to date, hitting .300/.351/.421 with seven homers through 83 games.
Ricco also indicated that the Mets have yet to decide if they’ll be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. However, comments from GM Sandy Alderson yesterday seemed to indicate that a sell off could be close as he said the next 10-12 days will be vital to that assessment. If they do sell, however, Alderson says that they’re not likely to move left-hander Jon Niese.
Of course, the Mets could instead lock up their second baseman for the long haul. Our own Steve Adams recently looked at what a new deal for Murphy might look like.
Indians Sign Mike Papi
1:14pm: Papi gets a $1.25MM bonus and a $30K scholarship, according to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish (on Twitter). That’s a little less than the prescribed $1.495MM slot value for the No. 38 pick.
1:10pm: The Indians announced that they have signed their Competitive Balance Round A selection, Mike Papi. The University of Virginia product was taken with the No. 38 overall pick.
Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d) and Baseball America both ranked Papi as the 43rd best prospect in this draft. MLB.com was more or less in agreement with that assessment, putting him at No. 45. Baseball America was very complimentary of Papi’s physical strength and noted that scouts give him plus power grades. However, Papi is a below-average runner and so-so athlete who will probably be a better fit at first base than in the outfield, according to BA.
The outfielder/first baseman earned All-America and First-Team All-ACC honors for the second straight year in 2014, leading the team in average, homers and RBI and became the first Cavalier to lead the ACC in home runs since 1978.
White Sox To Release Scott Downs
The White Sox have requested waivers on left-hander Scott Downs for the purpose of granting him his unconditional release, tweets Scott Merkin of MLB.com. The White Sox designated Downs for assignment late last month.
Over 23 2/3 innings for the White Sox, Downs recorded a 6.08 ERA with a better-than-usual 8.4 K/9 clip but an alarmingly high 5.7 BB/9 mark. Still, ERA estimators are kinder to Downs, as he owns a 3.69 FIP, 4.07 xFIP, and 3.96 SIERA.
While his 58.5% strand rate is one mark that looks prime for regression, that is also perhaps a reflection of the fact that he has been less than successful in his LOOGY role. On the other hand, Downs has held opposing left-handed hitters to a .225/.309/.367 mark; his real issue has been with righties, who own a .296/.415/.364 triple-slash against him.