Twins Sign Nick Gordon
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.
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.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Wieters, Scherzer, Rollins, Delmon
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has been plenty busy over the past few days, digging up rumors from all around the league. Here are some highlights from his latest work…
- Two sources tell Rosenthal that Matt Wieters‘ throwing program is going poorly and surgery is looking more likely (Twitter links). A third source, however, cautions that it’s too soon to make that judgment, adding that Wieters has good days and also bad days at this time.
- In this weekend’s Full Count video, he notes that while many were shocked by Max Scherzer‘s decision to turn down $144MM in an attempt to secure more on next year’s free agent market, Scherzer has an insurance policy on his right arm that Scherzer says “takes the injury risk out of it.” While the policy likely doesn’t cover the full amount of that offer, it sounds to be a substantial amount. Rosenthal adds that Jon Lester has a similar policy, though not for nearly as much money as Scherzer’s policy.
- Some friends of Jimmy Rollins feel that he’ll be willing to waive his 10-and-5 rights to approve a trade once he passes Mike Schmidt for the franchise lead in hits. Others feel he and his wife, a Philadelphia native, prefer to stay no matter what. Of course, Rollins’ $11MM vesting option damages his trade value as well, as he will easily reach the required plate appearances if he stays healthy.
- The Giants are looking to upgrade at second base this summer. While they could use a starting pitcher, they aren’t likely to make an addition that would turn Tim Lincecum into a $17MM bullpen arm. The Athletics, on the other hand, could use a starting pitching upgrade and have the necessary catching depth to make a move.
- The Orioles are willing to move Delmon Young, who is batting .286/.318/.369 and has lost most of his plate appearances to Steve Pearce. While Young isn’t the hitter than Kendrys Morales is, Rosenthal lists him as a low-cost alternative to teams that missed out on Morales; Young is set to earn about $600K over the rest of the season.
Dodgers Agree To Terms With Alex Verdugo
The Dodgers and second-round draft pick Alex Verdugo have agreed to terms on a $914.6K bonus, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link). The bonus directly matches the assigned value of the 62nd overall pick. Verdugo had committed to attend Arizona State.
Verdugo, 18, is a Tucson high schooler who was drafted by the Dodgers as an outfielder, though he was also well-regarded as a left-handed pitcher. Baseball America, in fact, believes that Verdugo’s “professional future is definitely on the mound,” describing him as “a strike-thrower” with two breaking balls and a changeup, plus a fastball in the 88-90mph range.
BA ranked Verdugo as the 55th-best prospect in the draft and MLB.com ranked him 60th, though both rankings may have been made with him in mind as a pitcher. Dodgers VP of amateur scouting Logan White told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick that pitching could still be in Verdugo’s future, as “if he doesn’t hit, he’ll go right to the mound. I think he can be a big league pitcher.”
Latest On The First Base Trade Market
First basemen who “are available” to be traded include the Yankees’ Kelly Johnson, the Phillies’ John Mayberry Jr., the Nationals’ Tyler Moore and the Pirates’ Gaby Sanchez, sources tell Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. Johnson and Sanchez are new additions to the rumor mill, while Mayberry and Moore have both been recently cited as possible trade chips.
The quartet is cited in the context of Mitch Moreland‘s season-ending ankle surgery, leaving the Rangers dealing with yet another major injury. Despite losing a host of notable players to the DL, Texas is still just 2.5 games behind Seattle for the last AL wild card slot, and could still be looking to make additions down the stretch. Texas had previously had exploratory talks with the Nationals about Moore, though MLB.com’s Bill Ladson noted those talks weren’t serious.
Johnson has played 23 games at first for the Yankees this season, though he has spent the large majority of his career as a second baseman (plus some time at third and in left field). Despite Yangervis Solarte‘s emergence, the Yankees’ infield depth is still thin, so it would be somewhat surprising to see New York move a versatile player like Johnson elsewhere. Johnson is still owed roughly $1.845MM from the one-year, $3MM deal he signed with the Yankees last winter.
Sanchez was the subject of some trade rumors last year, though he remained with the Bucs as the right-handed hitting half of a first base platoon. While he has a solid .255/.303/.510 slash line with five homers in 109 PA this year, Sanchez has made almost twice as many plate appearances against righties as he has against lefties since the Pirates have faced an unusually large amount of right-handed starters; Pittsburgh hitters as a whole have made only 366 PA against lefties in 2014, by far the lowest in the majors. Sanchez has a career .903 OPS against southpaws against just a .700 OPS against righties, so he could certainly provide a contender with a useful part-time or bench bat.
Rangers first basemen have combined for -0.9 fWAR this season, and five other teams (the Twins, Astros, Indians, Royals and Mariners) have also received sub-replacement level production from their first basemen.
Twins Sign Kendrys Morales
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.
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.
Brewers To Sign Jacob Gatewood
The Brewers have inked 41st overall choice Jacob Gatewood to a deal that includes a $1.83MM bonus, reports John Manuel of Baseball America (via Twitter). That means that Milwaukee will need to make up about $445K in savings, as the pick’s slot value is just under $1.4MM.
Gatewood’s agreement is the second over-slot deal for the Brewers. Earlier today, the club agreed to sign second-round pick Monte Harrison for $1.8MM, well over his slot value of $1.1MM. Combined, Milwaukee is now about $1.145MM over budget. While MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth noted at that time that an under-slot bonus for first-rounder Kodi Medeiros (12th overall) could make up the difference for the splurge on Harrison, the team may need to save money elsewhere to fit both slot busters.
As things stand, at-slot agreements with the team’s remaining choices from the first ten rounds would leave the club more than 15% over the $7.6MM total pool it enjoyed entering the draft. At that level of spending, Milwaukee would be penalized with the loss of their first pick in the next two Rule 4 drafts as well as a 100% tax on the overage. Needless to say, the Brewers will work hard to avoid that outcome.
Brad Johnson contributed to this post.
Padres Designate Jason Lane For Assignment
The Padres have designated lefty Jason Lane for assignment, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. His roster spot will be taken by Andrew Cashner, who is set to come off the DL to start tonight.
A veteran of six MLB seasons as an outfielder, Lane received his first big league action as a pitcher at age 37. While it took quite an effort for Lane to return to the bigs, his stay was short. He tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit with four strikeouts and no free passes.
Of course, Lane could well find his way back to San Diego this year. He currently owns a 4.36 ERA through 11 starts at Triple-A, and even remains a threat at the plate with a .407/.484/.667 triple-slash in 31 plate appearances.
Rays Designate Josh Lueke For Assignment
The Rays have designated reliever Josh Lueke for assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The move clears space on the Rays’ 25-man roster for fellow pitcher Kirby Yates, who had posted dominating numbers for Triple-A Durham (with a 0.36 ERA, 12.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 25 innings).
Lueke, 29, had posted a 5.64 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 30 1/3 innings with the Rays in 2014. He has been in the Rays organization since November 2011, when the team acquired him from the Mariners for John Jaso. Lueke posted extremely strong numbers for Durham in 2013, but has struggled to translate those results to the big-league level.
Braves To Sign Second Rounder Garrett Fulenchek
The Braves have agreed to an above-slot deal with Garrett Fulenchek, the team’s second round draft choice (66th overall), reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets that Fulenchek will get $1MM, higher than the bonus pool value of the pick of around $860K.
Fulenchek is a Texas high school product who emerged late and is said to have big upside if he can develop his secondary pitches and command behind a heavy sinker. Both MLB.com (which rated him the 57th-best prospect in the draft) and Baseball America (54th) placed the 6’4 right above the place he was taken. ESPN.com’s Keith Law, on the other hand, had Fulenchek in the 78th slot. He had been committed to pitch for Dallas Baptist.
Rusney Castillo Declared Free Agent, Represented By Roc Nation
Cuban free agent outfielder Rusney Castillo, 26, has officially been declared a free agent and will be represented by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. The 26-year-old is expected to hold a showcase for interested clubs soon.
Badler writes that, while Castillo is not viewed as an impact talent on the level of some of his countrymen who have broken into the bigs in recent years, he is definitely considered to have major league ability. Scouts have been split as to whether he is more likely to be an everyday option or a fourth outfielder. Castillo is a solid line-drive hitter with excellent speed, says Badler, and is said to be capable of playing center.
While it is far too early to handicap where Castillo will ultimately sign, the Orioles and Dodgers are among the clubs that have reportedly scouted him recently. As Badler notes on Twitter, the news is also notable for Castillo’s choice of representation. Roc Nation, which famously announced its entrance by taking on Robinson Cano as a client (and also represents C.C. Sabathia), appears now to be positioning itself in the Cuban market.