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Draft Signings: Hentges, Padlo, Loehr, Kelliher, Montgomery

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Here are Tuesday’s notable mid- to late-round draft signings, with all slot information coming courtesy of Baseball America…

  • The Indians have signed fourth-round pick Sam Hentges to a $700K deal, reports MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). That is nearly $300K higher than the 128th selection’s $400.2K slot allocation; he’ll also get a $160K scholarship. As noted below, Cleveland had already spent much of its existing padding on third-rounder Bobby Bradley. The high school lefty out of Minnesota was rated the 213th available player by Baseball America.
  • Rockies fifth-rounder Kevin Padlo has signed for $650K, tweets Callis. Padlo was taken with the 143rd overall choice, which came with a $346.3K allocation. The high school third baseman, who was rated the 129th-best player available by Callis and fellow MLB.com writer Jonathan Mayo, was said to be a late mover up draft boards.
  • The Athletics have gone above-slot for two choices, sixth-rounder Trace Loehr and eighth-rounder Branden Kelliher, reports Callis (Twitter link). Loehr will get a $600K bonus (against a $215.9K slot allocation), while Kelliher will get $450K ($215.9K slot). Those overages will take a decent chunk out of the savings that Oakland secured by agreeing with five other top-ten-round choices last Thursday.
  • Yankees fourth-round choice Jordan Montgomery has signed for the slot value of $424K, tweets Callis. Montgomery, a junior lefty for the University of South Carolina, was the 120th-best player in the draft, according to Baseball America.

Earlier Updates

  • The Indians have inked third-round selection Bobby Bradley, a high school first baseman, the club announced today. Bradley lands an above-slot $912.5K bonus, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter). Bradley was taken with the 97th overall selection, which comes with a $539.6K slot allocation. Running the math on MLB.com’s draft bonus tracker, Cleveland had a cumulative under-slot tally of $501.3K prior to inking Bradley. The team has yet to sign two other high school draftees from its first ten rounds: Simeon Lucas (seventh round) and Micah Miniard (eighth). MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, who rated Bradley the 68th-best available player, said that Bradley offers an unusually advanced left-handed bat with good power. He had been committed to LSU.
  • Jim Callis of MLB.com reports (via Twitter) that the Rays have agreed to terms with fourth-rounder Blake Bivens on an over-slot, $465K bonus. Bivens, a high school right-hander out of Virginia, was slotted to receive $404K. Callis notes that he has a chance for a plus fastball and curveball. BA ranked Bivens 124th among draft prospects.
  • Marlins fourth-round pick Brian Schales agreed to the full slot value of $490K for the 107th overall selection, reports Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (on Twitter). A shortstop out of Edison High School in California, Schales didn’t rank on Keith Law’s Top 100, MLB.com’s Top 200 or BA’s Top 500 prior to the draft.
  • Cotillo tweets that the Marlins also agreed with their fifth-round selection, Casey Soltis, on an over-slot $450K bonus (slot was $366,900). Soltis was a consensus top draft prospect among major media outlets, placing 97th on Law’s list, 100th on BA’s and 113th on MLB.com’s. Law feels he can stick in center due to his athleticism, while the other two think he may be ticketed for right field. There are questions about his power as well, but his speed draws praise.
  • The Twins and fifth-rounder Jake Reed agreed to a $350K bonus that saves Minnesota about $6,400, Cotillo tweets. After starting for his first two seasons with Oregon, Reed was moved to the bullpen and settled in as the Ducks’ closer. With a sinking fastball touching 97 mph and a hard slider, he ranked 123rd on MLB.com’s list and 155th on BA’s. He is one of many power relievers selected by Minnesota.
  • The Indians went nearly $200K over slot on eighth-round pick Micah Miniard, Cotillo reports. BA, who ranked Miniard 393rd among prospects, noted that the Kentucky high school right-hander’s velocity touched 94 mph last fall but dipped into the mid-80s this season.

Athletics Acquire Brad Mills

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The A’s have acquired left-hander Brad Mills from the Brewers in exchange for cash considerations, the Brewers’ player development department announced (on Twitter). Milwaukee will receive only nominal consideration in return, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

The 29-year-old Mills recently had an opt-out date come and go in his contract, but reports indicated that he was able to opt out at any time in favor of a Major League opportunity. Instead, he will head to the A’s where he will presumably have a chance to crack the big league roster in some capacity.

Mills has been excellent at Triple-A Nashville this season, pitching to a 1.56 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 75 innings of work (14 appearances, 12 starts). He’s struggled in 53 1/3 innings at the Major League level in his career, however, posting a 7.76 ERA with a 51-to-31 K/BB ratio.

Athletics Outright Marcus Walden

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The A’s have outrighted the contract of Marcus Walden off the 40-man roster to Double-A Midland, according to the team’s transactions page. Walden was claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays earlier this season.

The 25-year-old Walden has struggled in both the International League (with Toronto) and the Pacific Coast League (with Oakland) this season. In a total of 63 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level, he’s pitched to a 6.22 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9. Toronto’s loss of Walden drew plenty of criticism at the time, as he was only exposed to waivers due to some questionable 40-man roster management. As Gregor Chisholm and Jamie Ross of MLB.com wrote in April, the Jays called Walden up after designating Jeremy Jeffress for assignment, but only because their intended call-up, Chad Jenkins, hadn’t spent the required 10 days in the minor leagues after being optioned out at the end of Spring Training.

Walden didn’t pitch in a game for Toronto and found himself designated for assignment just over a week later when the club needed a roster spot for Munenori Kawasaki, following Maicer Izturis’ season-ending injury.

Minor Moves: Wilton Lopez, Michael Taylor

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the big leagues.

  • The White Sox have announced that they’ve acquired outfielder Michael Taylor from the Athletics for pitcher Jake Sanchez. Taylor, 28, played sparingly for the Athletics in 2011 through 2013. He posted a .243/.357/.385 line in 258 plate appearances for Triple-A Sacramento this year and is a career .275/.367/.436 hitter at the Triple-A level. Sanchez, 24, had a 2.80 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 for Class A+ Kannapolis. The White Sox purchased his contract from the independent Joliet Slammers last year.
  • The Rockies have outrighted pitcher Wilton Lopez to Triple-A Colorado Springs, according to MiLB.com. The Rockies designated him for assignment on Tuesday. Lopez, 30, allowed 18 hits and eight runs in 6 1/3 innings of work over four outings for the Rockies this season. He has a career 3.54 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 305 1/3 innings over six seasons.

Athletics To Sign Matt Chapman

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The Athletics have agreed to sign first-round choice Matt Chapman, reports MLB.com’s Jim Callis (Twitter link). Chapman will receive a $1.75MM bonus that falls about $148K shy of the 25th slot’s bonus allocation.

Oakland thought more highly of the Cal-State Fullerton third baseman and right-handed reliever than did most draft observers. ESPN.com’s Keith Law had him as the 60th-best player available, while Baseball America put him at 64th overall and MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis saw him as the 82nd rated draft prospect.

The overall consensus appears to be that Chapman has a big arm, though he has not seen much time on the hill. His bat has generated mixed views, with MLB.com citing good power that has not translated to game action, where he has struggled to square up the ball consistently. Baseball America says that he has a good approach and line-drive swing, noting that he has hit 98 on the radar gun and could value as a pitcher if he can’t stick as a position player. (The A’s, of course, have found recent success in a potentially analogous situation with Sean Doolittle.)

Those savings combine with the approximately $478.9K that the team secured in signing second-rounder Daniel Gossett and three other picks, as reported earlier today. Oakland has the ability to wield as much as $4.78MM in total bonus allotment, should it sign all of its picks from the first ten rounds.

Athletics Sign Daniel Gossett, Three Other Picks

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The Athletics have reached deals with four of the club’s ten first-round selections, reports MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. Among them is second-round (65th overall) choice Daniel Gossett, who gets a $750K bonus that falls $123K under the assigned slot value.

ESPN.com’s Keith Law was the most bullish draft observer with respect to Gossett, a junior righty from Clemson. Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com had him at 87th on their board, noting that Gossett’s relatively slight frame has led to questions about whether he can stick in the rotation.

Three other arms made up the rest of the signings. Fourth-rounder Jordan Schwartz gets $175K, a $110K savings as against the 132nd overall choice’s $385K slot value. Schwartz, a Niagara junior, was listed much later on Baseball America’s prospect rankings (376th). Meanwhile, agreements with ninth-rounder Mike Fagan ($20K bonus vs. $143.3K slot) and tenth-round selection Corey Miller ($15K bonus vs. $137.6K slot) also freed up cash.

All told, Oakland has opened up about $478.9K through these signings. The club entered the draft with a relatively paltry $4.78MM in available pool space.

That represents .

Outrighted To Triple-A: Josh Lueke, Kent Matthes

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Here are today’s outright assignments…

  • Rays righty Josh Lueke cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Durham, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Tampa designated Lueke for assignment two days ago in order to clear roster space for fellow righty Kirby Yates.
  • The Athletics have outrighted outfielder Kent Matthes to Double-A Midland, according to the MLB.com transactions page.  Matthes was originally designated for assignment on Friday.  The 27-year-old outfielder has a .217/.275/.370 slash line and five homers in a combined 200 PA for the Athletics’ Triple-A and Double-A squads this season.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Wieters, Scherzer, Rollins, Delmon

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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.

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AL Notes: A’s, Moreland, Rangers, Konerko, Draft

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The Yankees’ offense may be struggling, but former catcher Jorge Posada says that he wouldn’t be much help if he suddenly came out of retirement.  “I can’t play that game anymore,” Posada told Mitch Abramson of the Daily News at last night’s Miguel Cotto-Sergio Martinez fight at Madison Square Garden. “It’s too fast. They’re throwing too hard. I’m happy. I think my decision was great. I couldn’t play that game anymore. It’s a tough sport.”  More from around baseball:

  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders if the A’s might look to add more punch at second base.  Eric Sogard, Nick Punto, and Alberto Callaspo haven’t been doing much offensively so far, but a premium second baseman would require a substantial return.  The A’s won’t part with Addison Russell and minor league right-hander Raul Alcantara is hurt.
  • The Rangers have lost their second first baseman to the disabled list with the news Mitch Moreland will undergo left ankle reconstruction and is expected to miss three months. In the wake of Kendrys Morales’ signing with the Twins, ESPNDallas.com’s Richard Durrett examines the Rangers’ in-house options to replace Moreland.
  • Paul Konerko was caught off-guard when he was traded by the Dodgers on the Fourth of July 16 years ago, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. “I was surprised not because I got traded, but because of the timing of the trade,” said Konerko, who was dealt to the Reds for closer Jeff Shaw. “I don’t think it really mattered what they got at that point. It didn’t seem like they were going to win.” The Dodgers, who finished third in 1998, were 12 1/2 games out of first place and eight games behind in the Wild Card race at the time of the deal. The Reds flipped Konerko to the White Sox seven months later for outfielder Mike Cameron and the rest is history for the South Siders.
  • ESPN’s Keith Law breaks down the draft for each American League club (through Round Ten) in an Insider-only piece (subscription required).

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Cafardo On Marlins, Burnett, Price, Cuddyer

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In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looks at the impact that hitting coach Kevin Seitzer has had on the Blue Jays thus far in 2014.  Toronto used to be a swing-for-the-fences team, but even guys like Jose Bautista are hitting to all fields.  With a new, more patient approach at the plate, Toronto is leading the league in runs, homers, and extra base hits.  Here’s more from today’s column..

  • A Marlins official told Cafardo there’s no reason they won’t add a player through a trade. The National League East seems wide open, and they believe that they can find their way to the playoffs, even without the services of Jose Fernandez.  Miami has lots of pieces to offer, so they shouldn’t have trouble finding a match over the next couple of months.
  • Phillies veteran A.J. Burnett is some contending teams are looking at, but as one AL scout tells Cafardo, “if he doesn’t pitch better he’ll be another guy the Phillies are stuck with. When he’s the A.J. we saw earlier in the year or last year, he’s a guy you want out there in a tough situation. Right now, you wouldn’t touch him.” In his last six starts he has a 7.25 ERA, after posting a 2.06 ERA in his first seven.
  • The Rays will have to get at least three top players for left-hander David Price and if they don’t get that offer this summer, they’ll probably pull back and wait until the offseason.  Price, of course, still has great stuff, but his velocity is down, which is always a red flag.  There’s also no guarantee that he’ll re-sign with the team that trades for him, which could keep the Rays from getting the haul they want.
  • Rockies veteran Michael Cuddyer didn’t appear to be one of the possibly available outfielders at the deadline a month ago, but he could be if Colorado’s slide continues.  The 35-year-old is a great clubhouse presence and would draw trade interest along with Drew Stubbs.  Cafardo mentions the Red Sox as a club that could have interest in Stubbs as they seek an outfielder with power.
  • The Yankees, Rangers, Angels, Mariners, and Tigers (if they lose Max Scherzer) are among the teams who will line up if Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester hits the open market. On their end, Boston must decide whether to go beyond a fifth year because the other teams surely will.
  • The A’s nearly traded right-hander Jim Johnson to the Marlins last week, so, they’re clearly willing to move him.  Cafardo mentions the Orioles, Yankees, and Tigers as clubs that could have interest, but his rocky start and onerous contract make him a gamble.
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