MLBTR Originals
A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week:
- There were five installments of MLBTR’s Draft Prospect Q&A series in the days leading up to the 2014 draft: Nick Gordon (by Zach Links) selected by the Twins in the first round and fifth overall (1-5), Aaron Nola (by Zach) chosen by the Phillies 1-7, Michael Chavis (by Zach) drafted by the Red Sox 1-23, Braxton Davidson (by Steve Adams) tabbed by the Braves 1-32, and Jacob Gatewood (by Steve) picked by the Brewers in the Competitive Balance Round A and 41st overall.
- Agent David Sloane of Taurus Sports told MLBTR left-hander Justus Sheffield, drafted by the Indians with the 31st-overall pick, agreed to terms at $1.6MM plus the value of a scholarship to Vanderbilt (approximately $250K).
- A baseball source told MLBTR there is no truth to a report the Cubs were asking for a competitive balance draft choice to be included in any trade for Jeff Samardzija.
- Zach was the first to report right-hander Luis Ayala agreed to a minor league contract with the Blue Jays and the deal does not include an opt-out.
- Charlie Wilmoth asked MBTR readers to rank last offseason’s best short-term free agent signings (defined as a player who agreed to an one-year contract or a minor-league deal and has produced more than 1 fWAR at the time of the poll). Nearly 68% of you rated the Orioles signing of Nelson Cruz as number one.
- Steve hosted the weekly live chat and also anchored the MLBTR draft chat.
- Zach put together the best of the baseball blogosphere in Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
Draft Signings: Skoglund, Rays, Helmink, Bukauskas
Here are today’s notable draft news and signings:
- The Royals have agreed to terms with third-round pick Erik Skoglund, who will get the bonus pool amount of $576K, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Skoglund is a projectable lefty and a junior out of Central Florida.
- The Rays have signed their sixth- through ninth-round draft choices, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin tweets. Sixth-rounder Mac James, a catcher from Oklaholma, is a junior, but the other three players (RHP Mike Franco of Florida International, 3B Daniel Miles of Tennessee Tech, and RHP Chris Pike of Oklahoma City University) are all seniors, so the Rays will likely save money against their bonus pool with those picks.
- The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with 12th-round pick Holden Helmink, a righty from a Texas junior college, on a deal worth $100K, Cotillo tweets. $100K is the maximum a team can pay a player drafted after the tenth round without it counting against the team’s bonus pool.
- The Dodgers have agreed to terms with fifth-rounder Jared Walker, a lefty-hitting third baseman from a Georgia high school, on a deal for the bonus pool value of $297K, Cotillo tweets. Walker was committed to Kennesaw State.
- The Rangers have signed sixth-round pick Jose Trevino, Trevino himself tweets. Texas selected the Oral Roberts junior third baseman at No. 186 overall. The bonus pool value of that pick is about $229K.
- The Rockies have agreed to terms with sixth-rounder Max George, Neil Devlin of the Denver Post tweets. The 5-foot-9 shortstop is a local product, hailing from Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora. There was no immediate word on George’s bonus, but the pool value of the pick is about $259K.
- The Blue Jays have announced the first signings of their 2014 draft class: prep catcher Matt Morgan (4th round) and Florida right-hander Justin Shafer (8th round). No terms were released, but the slot value (per Baseball America) for the two picks are $458K and $159.9K, respectively.
- Right-hander J.B. Bukauskas tweeted he will honor his commitment to the University of North Carolina and not sign with the Diamondbacks. Bukauskas, rated #33 by Baseball America and #38 by MLB.com, lasted until the 20th round (#600 overall) after asking teams last month not to draft him because he wanted to attend UNC.
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
Minor Moves: Heath Bell, Brad Meyers
Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:
- Reliever Heath Bell has opted out of his minor-league deal with the Orioles, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Bell had signed with the Orioles in mid-May after being released by the Rays, and the veteran closer pitched 10 2/3 innings for Triple-A Norfolk, posting a 4.22 ERA while striking out 11 and walking six.
- The Nationals have released right-hander Brad Meyers, reports Geoff Morrow of PennLive.com. Meyers made six starts for the Nationals’ Double-A affiliate this year posting a 7.12 ERA, 4.1 K/9, and 4.9 BB/9 in 24 innings. The 28-year-old, Washington’s 2007 fifth-round draft choice, has battled shoulder and back injuries the past two seasons and has not advanced past Triple-A.
- Per MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, seven players remain in DFA limbo: Jose Veras (Cubs), Jordan Pacheco (Rockies), David Huff (Giants), Kent Matthes (A’s), Jason Lane (Padres), Josh Lueke (Rays), and Jason Kubel (Twins).
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Seniors, Rodon, Archer, Hale
The number of college seniors taken in the first ten rounds of the draft increased when bonus pools were instituted in 2012, and the trend toward college seniors reached new heights in 2014, Clint Longenecker of Baseball America writes. Teams took a total of 71 seniors in the first ten rounds, including a total of 36 in the ninth and tenth rounds. Since seniors have little leverage, they can often be signed cheaply, and teams can use the pool savings on a senior drafted in, say, the ninth round on players drafted earlier, or even on hard-to-sign talents from Day 3. Here are more notes on the draft.
- With the third overall pick in the draft, the White Sox drafted lefty Carlos Rodon, and 105 picks later, in the fourth round, they also drafted his catcher at NC State, Brett Austin. Austin is a big fan of his current, and perhaps future, teammate, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reports. “I’m going to branch out and say he could be like a Clayton Kershaw one day,” says Austin. “It’s bold to say, but I’ve heard someone say he’s the best amateur pitcher they’ve ever seen over the last 20 years. And me catching him for the last three years, I’ve kind of started to believe that, too.”
- Many high schoolers who were selected this week have difficult decisions ahead, and Fangraphs’ David Laurila checks in with high school product Chris Archer and college product David Hale to see what led them to decide when to turn pro. “If a company … is willing to offer you a large advance, and is willing to pay the expenses of school if it doesn’t work out … that’s something you probably want to take advantage of, especially if your family can’t necessarily cover all of your school expenses,” says Archer. The Rays pitcher, who was drafted by the Indians in the fifth round in 2006, adds that he also thought signing out of high school would help him develop as a pitcher, given how raw he was when he was drafted. Hale, meanwhile, thought he might be drafted somewhere from the third through eighth rounds out of high school, in which case he wouldn’t get enough money to sway him from going to Princeton. He went to college, signed with the Braves after his junior year, and quickly finished his degree the following offseason.
AL Notes: A’s, Moreland, Rangers, Konerko, Draft
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.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Jimenez, Aceves, Carlyle
Today’s outright assignments..
- The Phillies announced that left-hander Cesar Jimenez cleared waivers and accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The Phillies designated Jimenez for assignment last week. Jimenez, 29, appeared in 19 games for the Phillies last season en route to a 3.71 ERA, and he has a career 4.81 ERA with 6.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 36.9 percent ground-ball rate in 67 1/3 innings.
- The Yankees have outrighted reliever Alfredo Aceves to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Aceves, 31, signed with the Yankees after opting out of his minor league deal with the Orioles late in the spring. He had worked to a 6.52 ERA in 19 1/3 frames this year before being designated for assignment last week.
- The Mets outrighted right-hander Buddy Carlyle to Triple-A, according to the transactions page. Carlyle, 36, made just two appearances for the Mets in 2014, working four-and-a-third innings without allowing a run. He has seen sporadic MLB action over parts of eight seasons, notching 256 1/3 innings and compiling a 5.51 ERA. The Mets DFA’d Carlyle on June 4th.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Blue Jays, D’Backs, O’s
On this date in 2010, the much anticipated big league debut of Stephen Strasburg lived up to its hype. The 21-year-old struck out 14 Pirates batters in seven innings in the Nationals’ 5-2 victory in Washington, D.C. That strikeout tally set a new record for Washington that still stands today, not counting the Expos years. Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..
- Blue Jays Plus breaks down Edwin Encarnacion vs. James Shields.
- Inside The Zona ranks the D’Backs’ best trade assets.
- NL Theory turns in their 2014 spend allocation report.
- Camden Depot wonders if the O’s should trade a top prospect for Jeff Samardzija.
- Bucs Dugout looks at the Pirates’ unconventional start to the draft.
- World Series Dreaming looks at potential landing spots for Samardzija.
- The Baseball Stance says Kendrys Morales is a fit wth the Yankees.
- Pinstripe Pundits looks at Alfonso Soriano‘s struggles.
- Call To The Pen gives a tip of the cap to Phil Hughes.
- Grading On The Curve wonders who the first star from the 2013 draft will be.
- Redleg Nation makes the case for Joey Votto batting first.
- Royals Blue runs down AL Rookie of the Year candidates.
- FanDuel looks at the prospects to pounce on in fantasy.
Please send submissions to Zach at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
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.
Cafardo On Marlins, Burnett, Price, Cuddyer
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.
Notes On Kendrys Morales Signing
In case you missed it, the Twins finally brought an end to this year’s post-qualifying offer market, inking first baseman/DH Kendrys Morales to a deal that will pay him at a $12MM annual rate (around $7.5MM for the rest of the year). Morales will ultimately take home slightly less than Nelson Cruz takes home from the Orioles, though he’ll have to play much fewer games to earn it and will not be eligible for a qualifying offer next year. (Of course, he will also fall well shy of the $14.1MM qualifying offer that he rejected.)
Here’s the latest on the Morales signing:
- The Mariners did make an offer to Morales within the last two days, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The value of the offer was not reported. Seattle, of course, will not receive any draft compensation for losing Morales, since he waited to sign until after the first day of this year’s amateur draft.
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi says that he was not involved in any discussions about the possibility of adding Morales, reports Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. “[W]e thought [Mark Teixeira‘s] injury wasn’t going to keep him out for a long period of time,” explained Girardi. “We were pretty confident that we were going to get [Carlos Beltran] back.” While New York had been said to be a possible suitor, the most recent report indicated that the team had been rebuffed when it asked agent Scott Boras to hold off on signing while the team evaluated the health of Teixeira and Beltran.
- Morales is likely to slot right into the Twins‘ MLB lineup in spite of his layoff, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He figures to provide an immediate boost to the offense, even if he’s rusty, as Minnesota has received scant production from the first base and designated hitter slots in the lineup. On the other hand, it would be surprising to see the team take at bats away from Joe Mauer, and utilizing Morales as the primary DH will mean that the team can put only one of its two most productive hitters thus far (catchers Kurt Suzuki and Josmil Pinto) in the lineup. Of course, Suzuki remains a candidate to be traded away over the summer.
- Adding Morales represents another move that increases the Twins‘ ability to compete in the short term without sacrificing long-term value, writes Dan Szymborski for ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). Morales projects to be a roughly league-average DH, says Szymborski, but that sort of player would cost prospects to acquire via trade. And while the team may still have an uphill path to contention, it does sit just under .500, only five back in the AL Central and two-and-a-half out of the Wild Card. Like Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes, who were inked to long-term deals over the offseason, Morales does not require Minnesota to cough up a draft choice.