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Giants Release, Re-Sign Four Players

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As a procedural move, the Giants have released Pablo Sandoval, Trevor Cahill, Yolmer Sanchez, and Billy Hamilton, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Not to worry, though: all four are expected to re-sign with the team on new minor league contracts and join the Giants for renewed Spring Training.

Evidently, these roster moves are simply technicalities and won’t affect the players’ standing with the club. The precise motivation for reworking the quartet’s contracts is unclear, but speculatively may be related to opt-out clauses in the minor league deals to which they were previously signed.

Phillies Release Drew Storen, Matt Szczur

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The Phillies announced they have released right-handed reliever Drew Storen and outfielder Matt Szczur. Both were among a large group of veterans in camp on minor-league deals this spring.

Storen is most famous for his run with the Nationals, where he combined for a 3.02 ERA/3.09 FIP in 334 relief innings between 2010-15. He fell on tough times after leaving Washington and hasn’t seen big league action since suiting up with the 2017 Reds, partially due to Tommy John surgery.

Szczur, meanwhile, hit well in limited time with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in 2019. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to earn him another shot in the majors, where he logged a bit of time every season from 2014-18. The 30-year-old has a career .231/.312/.355 slash (81 wRC+) in 667 plate appearances.

KBO Preparing Plan To Allow Fans In Ballparks

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The Korea Baseball Organization is preparing guidelines to gradually admit fans back into parks, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (via Twitter). The expectation is the league will admit fans at approximately 30 percent of stadium capacity to start out, perhaps as soon as next weekend. If all goes well, the league could incrementally increase admissions thereafter, Yoo reports.

Predictably, the in-stadium experience would look quite different than it would’ve in a normal year. Yoo notes that fans would be required to stay apart from one another and wear masks, while concession stands would mostly remain closed.

Restrictions notwithstanding, the plan’s finalization would be a welcome step for Korean baseball. The KBO began play without fans on May 5 and has proceeded without stoppage for the better part of two months. That obviously reflects South Korea’s broader success in limiting the spread of COVID-19.

It is unlikely, of course, MLB fans will enjoy entry into a ballpark at any time in 2020. The league has yet to officially rule out in-person attendance this season, but the massive uptick in coronavirus cases throughout the U.S. makes clear that will almost certainly not be feasible. Indeed, Dodgers president Stan Kasten told Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times this week he has no expectation of even a small number of fans attending Dodger Stadium any time soon.

Quick Hits: Schedule, Twins, A’s, Minor League Pay

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The Nationals and Yankees are tentatively scheduled to play on July 23, according to Joel Sherman and Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, which would make for a big Max Scherzer vs. Gerrit Cole pitching matchup to highlight Opening Day.  It might still be at least a week or two before the 2020 schedule is officially finalized, however, as the league is still considering a number of factors, chief among them coronavirus outbreaks around the United States.  “Better, the league believes, to take its time, see how the [COVID-19] testing of personnel goes this week and the preferences expressed in feedback from clubs,” Sherman and Marchand write.  “So the current schedule can change drastically and, if it does, the union will have to provide its blessing again.”

More from around baseball…

  • Tomorrow is the deadline for teams to submit their initial 60-man player pool, and details are already beginning to emerge about which players may or may not be included.  The Twins’ taxi squad will include top prospects Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, and Brent Rooker,  SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson tweets.  Caleb Thielbar, who rejoined Minnesota on a minors contract last winter, is also expected to be on taxi squad duty.
  • The Athletics will initially split their player pool into two groups, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, with much of the big league roster training in Oakland and the taxi squad potentially training in nearby Stockton — the home of the Athletics’ Class-A affiliate — if a deal can be finalized with Stockton city officials.  Offseason minor league signings Ryan Goins, Carlos Perez, Jordan Weems, and Lucas Luetge will all be in Oakland, while taxi squad players include such notable prospects as Tyler Soderstrom, Daulton Jefferies, Nick Allen, Dustin Fowler and (as per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez) Robert Puason.
  • Slusser also provides updates on some Athletics players who were battling injuries during the spring but are now on track to be ready for Opening Day.  A.J. Puk “has been throwing bullpen sessions for months” following a shoulder strain in the spring, and looks to be ready to begin the season in Oakland’s rotation.  Right-hander Daniel Mengden is also ready to be part of the pitching mix after recovering from arthroscopic elbow surgery in February.  After being sidelined with an intercostal strain during Spring Training, Stephen Piscotty said he is now “100 percent with no limitations.”
  • The Rays and Rangers are the latest teams to commit to paying their minor leaguers through the end of July, as respectively reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Minor leaguers in each organization will continue to receive their $400 weekly stipends for at least another month.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/27/20

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The latest draft signings…

Latest News

  • The Brewers have signed third-rounder Zavier Warren, who made the news official today on his own Twitter feed.  Warren will receive “slightly” less than the $637.6K slot value attached to the 92nd overall pick, Tony Paul of the Detroit News reports (Twitter link).  Milwaukee is also reportedly close to an official agreement with fifth-round pick Hayden Cantrelle, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports that Cantrelle took his physical earlier this week and will receive a below-slot deal.  Cantrelle’s 151st overall draft position has a $353.7K slot value.  [UPDATE: Cantrelle has signed for $300K, as per Robert Murray]

Earlier Today

  • The Reds inked third-round pick Bryce Bonnin and fifth-rounder Joe Boyle, as reported by Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Details on Boyle’s bonus aren’t yet known, though Bonnin signed for $700K, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis.  This falls slightly below the $721.9K slot value attached to the 84th overall pick.  Bonnin is a right-handed pitcher from Texas who previously went to the Cubs as a 26th-rounder in 2017. After attending Arkansas, Bonnin transferred to Texas Tech and became their Sunday starter in 2019, helping his club to a 12-1 record on days he took the hill. He finished the year with a 4.08 ERA before struggling over his four starts in 2020 (7.36 ERA).
  • Second-round pick Logan Allen signed yesterday with the Indians, but the financial details of his deal have come in. Allen signed for $1.125MM, a touch below slot ($1,276,400), tweets Callis. Allen was a two-way player in college, but like the Indians’ other Logan Allen, the southpaw’s most likely future is on the hill.
  • The Pirates announced today that they’ve signed fifth-round pick Logan Hofmann, with details first reported by Marc Delucchi and confirmed by Callis. Hofmann will receive a $125K signing bonus, which is under the $402K slot value for the 138th overall selection. Hofmann is a right-handed pitcher from Northwestern State, where he didn’t concede an earned run in 28 IP this spring.
  • The White Sox have signed fifth-rounder Bailey Horn, according to Callis. Horn, a left-handed pitcher from Auburn, will earn $150K, which comes in at less than half of the $386,600 slot value for the 142nd pick. Per Callis, Horn features a four-pitch mix, of which the slider is his best offering. By signing Horn and second-rounder Jared Kelley today, the White Sox now have all five of their draft picks under contract.

Cardinals Sign Dominican Prospect Edwin Nunez

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The Cardinals have signed international amateur free agent Edwin Nunez for $525K, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America.  This deal comes as part of the extended 2019-20 international signing period, which will run until October 15 and was re-opened again on Friday when the transactions freeze was lifted.

Like all other business in baseball, the international market was halted by the league’s COVID-19 shutdown, meaning Nunez had to wait a little longer to sign with his first big league organization.  Nunez’s entry into the pros had already been delayed a year, as the league declared him ineligible to sign during the 2018-19 international prospect period due to a discrepancy with his given age.  Nunez became eligible in April, and is now listed as 18 years old.

Despite his late entry into the signing period, Badler writes that Nunez “had emerged as one of the top pitching prospects in the 2019-20 class.”  A hard-throwing righty from the Dominican Republic, Nunez already has a high-90s fastball that has hit the 100mph threshold on occasion.  It isn’t out of the question that even more velocity could be unlocked, given Nunez’s young age and the potential for more bulk added to his 6’3″, 185-pound frame.  Beyond that big fastball, Nunez also has a largely untested changeup and a somewhat “inconsistent” curveball.

Orioles Sign Two Draft Picks

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5:36PM: Both players signed for their exact slot price, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links).

5:05PM: The Orioles have signed two of their picks from the amateur draft, announcing that Competitive Balance Round A pick Jordan Westburg and second-rounder Hudson Haskin have agreed to deals with the club.

Financial terms weren’t announced, though the 30th overall selection (Westburg) has a $2,365,500 slot value and the 39th overall pick (Haskin) has a $1,906,800 slot price.  The O’s have already gone notably over slot with two of their other draft signings, though some type of below-slot deal is expected with second overall pick Heston Kjerstad, as Baltimore’s slight reach in taking Kjerstad at that selection was seen as a way to free up more pool money for signings in the rest of the team’s draft class.

Westburg was a consensus top-40 pick among pundits, with Fangraphs being the highest on him as the 32rd-ranked player on their draft board.  A 21-year-old shortstop, Westburg has been a big part of Mississippi State’s consecutive appearances in the College World Series, and he also performed well in the Cape Cod League last summer.  While seen as something of an inconsistent or raw hitter, Westburg has cut down on his strikeouts over his last three NCAA seasons, and could develop more power as he continues to build on his 6’3″, 203-pound frame.  That size could make Westburg a candidate to eventually move to third base, though he is considered to have the athleticism and throwing arm required to earn a look at shortstop.

Haskin, an outfielder out of Tulane, has drawn some comparison to Hunter Pence for, to quote, Baseball America’s scouting report, a swing that “works despite being ugly.”  Haskin’s lengthy swing has nonetheless delivered impressive results at the plate, and he could also potentially work as a big league center fielder given his plus speed and solid defense.  The Orioles were clearly higher on Haskin than most pundits — the 21-year-old was ranked 51st on Keith Law’s board, 74th by MLB Pipeline, 76th by Fangraphs, and only 211st by Baseball America.

Rockies Release Kelby Tomlinson

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The Rockies released infielder Kelby Tomlinson, reports MLBTR’s own Steve Adams. Tomlinson had signed with the team in January on a minor-league deal, but won’t be given the opportunity to continue his stint in Colorado.

With speculation about a possible Nolan Arenado trade running rampant at the time of his signing, Tomlinson might have seen a heightened role with the Rockies if Arenado were out of the picture, but with no such trade coming to fruition, the need for Tomlinson was limited. And with the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Josh Fuentes, Ryan McMahon, and others also in the picture, Tomlinson faced plenty of competition for playing time in the Colorado infield.

Tomlinson hasn’t appeared in regular-season action since 2018 when he was with the Giants. He played the entirety of last season at the Triple-A level in the Arizona and Seattle minor-league systems, posting an overall .602 OPS. In parts of four seasons with San Francisco, Tomlinson managed a .265/.331/.332 batting line.

Though he provides little in the way of power, Tomlinson could be a depth option for a club in need of reserve infielders. The 30-year-old can play shortstop, second base, and third base, and could be worth a spot on a team’s 60-player pool.

White Sox Sign Second-Round Pick Jared Kelley

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The White Sox have agreed to a deal with second-round draft pick Jared Kelley, according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. Kelley, an 18-year-old right-hander from Refugio High School in Texas, will receive a $3MM signing bonus, which comes in well above the $1.58MM slot value for the 47th overall pick.

Despite being chosen in the second round, Kelley by all accounts boasts the talent to warrant a first-round selection, with MLB Pipeline touting Kelley as the 12th-ranked prospect in this year’s draft class. That, along with a commitment to the University of Texas, means that Kelley commands a considerable signing bonus.

Kelley’s a big right-hander with a fastball to match, running the pitch up to 98 with an effortless delivery. The changeup is a surprisingly polished pitch for a high-schooler, and it’s easily his second-best offering. All that said, the biggest question in the way of Kelley’s path to becoming a top-flight Major League starter will be the development of his breaking ball, which is at best an average offering. Even if Kelley fails to develop and quality third pitch, the fastball-changeup combination will be enough to carry him to a high-leverage bullpen role. And while there’s value in that, such an outcome would still be considered a disappointment given Kelley’s high potential.

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